Faded Blue
by 0TheCluster0
Summary: Once, a Gem ran away from Homeworld, adopted Earth as her home, fell in love with a human rockstar, and had a child. That Gem was Blue Diamond. Now twelve years old, Steven is coming into his power… but the more he learns about it and his mother's legacy, the less he may actually want it.
1. Visitors

**Faded Blue**  
 **Chapter One: Visitors**

"Steven?"

…

…

"Steven? You need to get up."

Steven stirred in his bed. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and saw Pearl leaning over him, her eyes peaking just past her blue bangs. She smiled softly at him. "Good evening, my Steven."

"Evening, Pearl," Steven smiled sleepily as he stretched, shaking the remnants of sleep off of him. He sat up and Pearl stood up, giving him his space.

"You need to get ready quickly, my Steven," Pearl said. "The person at the motel office has already come by once to try and force us to leave."

Steven threw the covers off of him as he hopped off the bed, straightening his sleep shirt. "Why didn't you wake me? We could have left before now."

"You still needed more sleep. Your growing human body requires eight hours of sleep."

Steven rubbed his eyes. After the day they had, he couldn't really argue that he appreciated the sleep. Still, Pearl's tendency to disregard other people had gotten them in trouble before.

"I've already laid out your clothes in the bathroom, Steven," Pearl said. "Hurry and dress so we may be off."

"Okay, but are you going wear your dress?" Steven asked.

Pearl pursed her lips. "I'm not sure, Steven. I don't really like the feeling of clothes…"

"Pleeease, Pearl?" Steven pleaded, clasping his hands together and putting on his sweetest possible face. "Dad and I picked that dress out especially for you. And you look so pretty in it!"

Pearl sighed before smiling again. "Very well, my Steven. For you."

Steven cheered, "Yes!"

"But _you_ need to get dressed as well."

"Right. I am, Pearl." Steven quickly trotted off to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

First thing first, he got onto the toilet and relieved his near-full bladder. That done, he began undressing, folding his sleep clothes and putting them into his cheeseburger backpack, which hung on a hook on the back to the door. After, he took the clothes Pearl had laid by the sink, a pair of jeans, a simple black shirt emblazoned with a bright yellow star, and his dark blue hoodie. Steven dressed, then grabbed a pair of socks out of his backpack and put them on, followed by his sturdy pair of walking shoes.

"One last thing," Steven said to himself as he walked over to the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. He smiled at his reflection, who smiled back, and pulled down the neck of his shirt, revealing his blue, diamond shaped gem. He breathed onto the sleeve of his jacket and rubbed it, giving it a slight sheen.

"Steven? Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready, Pearl." Steven straightened his shirt and exited the bathroom. He grinned broadly at Pearl, delighted that she was wearing the faded blue sundress that Steven and his dad had gotten her. "See? You look great."

Pearl smiled and nodded, "If you say so, Steven. Let's get going." She opened the motel room's door and Steven walked out. "If your pack gets too heavy for you, let me know and I can carry it."

"Alright, Pearl. But I think I got it."

Pearl closed the door behind them. The sun was already hanging low in the sky. They'd have to hurry if they wanted to make it to the last bus to town for the night. Sparing only a glance at the window into the front office (with the person on the other side sparing a long look back), Pearl put a hand on Steven's back and led him towards the sidewalk and bus stop.

* * *

The sun had gone all the way down by the time they reached town. Pearl and Steven walked through the deserted streets, thankfully not running into anyone. Pearl did her best to keep her gaze leveled at the carwash ahead of them, rather than on the giant cliffside, on which the other side she tried her best _not_ to think about.

The carwash was dark, but the beat up van out front was not. Its back doors were open and Pearl could see the bulky silhouette of a human sitting in the back.

"Dad!" Steven exclaimed as he burst into a run towards the van.

"Steven-" Pearl called after him, but he was already gone. She sped up after him.

Greg was indeed sitting in the back of the van, strumming on his guitar and waving at them as they approached.

"Hey, Shtoo-b-" Greg was cut off as Steven lept at him, knocking him onto his back and securing him tightly in a hug.

"Hey, Dad!" Steven greeted, squeezing a little tighter.

"Oof! Easy there, Steven," Greg coughed and laughed at the same time. "You don't want to break anything."

"Oh! I'm sorry, Dad." Steven climbed off his father and sat down next to him. Greg carefully got back up, setting his guitar aside. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" Steven asked.

"Nah, you're fine," Greg said. "To be honest, I appreciate the enthusiasm. Not looking forward to when you're less excited to see your old man."

"That'll never happen, Dad," Steven said. "It's always great seeing you."

Greg chuckled and tousled Steven's hair. " _Hehe_ , well that's reassuring." By now Pearl had joined them. Greg waved a greeting at her, "Hey, Pearl."

"Hello, Greg." Pearl bowed slightly at him. "It's good to see you again."

"Yeah, same." He clapped his hands together. "So. How have you two been doing?"

"Great!" Steven answered. "Pearl's teaching me all about different places in the world! Like last week we learned about China!"

"Oh, that sounds interesting."

"Yeah! And yesterday, Pearl and I went down to the town at the bottom of the mountain. They were having some sort of fair and I tried this food called- um, what was it called?"

"Hweori Gamja, my Steven," Pearl replied.

"It was really good," Steven said. "It was like a potato chip, only thicker and it was lots of them on a stick."

"Man, that does sound good," Greg said. "I really need to get back there. For the food, if nothing else."

"Then we can spend all day together!" Steven said. "I can show you around town! And all my favorite places on the mountain."

"We're definitely going to do that, Steven," Greg said, putting an arm around Steven's shoulder. "Just, once the time's right."

" _Ahh_ ," Steven moaned. "The time's _never_ right."

Greg glanced up at Pearl, though it was hard to tell if she was looking back through her long bangs. "It will be soon, Shtoo-ball."

"Promise?"

"Yeah. I promise."

Steven sighed. "Okay, Dad. Here." He swung his backpack around to his front. "Let me show you some of my new drawings. Oh, and this one part in the geography text book Pearl's been using." He was digging through his backpack, pulling out books, folders, loose papers, and even a board game.

"I'm sorry, Greg. I asked him to pack more conservatively," Pearl explained as she grabbed several sheets of paper that were in danger of blowing away in the breeze.

"It's alright," Greg said as he did his part to move the contents of Steven's backpack further into the van and thus safe from the wind. "I'm just grateful for the visits." He smiled softly down at his son.

"Okay," Steven said as he flipped through the text book, looking for just the right page. "So, first thing's first…"

* * *

Steven stopped only when his own body did. He had fallen asleep, resting his head in Greg's lap, who rested a gentle hand on the child's head.

Pearl had busied herself for a while packing the contents of Steven's backpack up and securing said pack on her shoulders.

After a bit of silence, Greg asked, "So, have things been quiet on your end?"

"Yes," Pearl nodded. "We've had no trouble. And as far as I can tell, the nearest warp pads haven't been used by anyone but us."

Greg sighed and sagged with relief. "Well, that's good."

"And… have you…?" Pearl trailed off.

Greg sighed again, this one heavier and much more weary. "Not really. Though, when I'm talking to Rose, it's sometimes hard to tell what's useful and what's not. I try to ask questions, but I don't want to seem suspicious. Plus, it's especially hard when I have the _other_ Pearl drilling holes in the back of my head."

"Yes. I imagine not." Pearl tipped her head in Greg's direction, expression unreadable. "I thank you for your help, Greg." She grabbed on of the straps of the backpack and squeezed it. "Were she still around, I'm sure my Diamond would be grateful as well."

"Yeah. She would," Greg said wistfully. He closed his eyes, leaning back, though not enough to disturb Steven. "I miss her, Pearl. I…" He sighed. "I wish she were here now."

"I do as well," Pearl replied. "But we have her request. And Steven." She looked down at the young boy, still asleep in his father's lap, a thin trail of drool trailing from his mouth. Pearl resisted the urge to wipe it off. She'd need to wake Steven soon so they could go. The sunrise would be here soon.

As if in response to Pearl's wonderings, Steven stirred and yawned, stretching as he sleepily sat up.

"Good morning, my Steven," Pearl said.

"Morning, Pearl. Mornin', Dad."

"Morning, Steven. You have a good nap?"

He nodded, before turning to Pearl. "I guess we need to leave now?"

"I believe so. It will be dawn soon. And we best not linger here during the day."

"Right," Steven sighed. "Okay." He hugged his father. "Bye, Dad. We'll see you later."

"Yep. I'll see you too," Greg said, returning the hug. "Stay safe, be good for Pearl, keep up with your studies, three square meals a day, all that good stuff."

Steven hopped down from the van. "Okay, Dad. I will." He grabbed Pearl's hand as the two started to walk off. He turned and waved, "I'll see you soon, Dad. I promise!"

Greg smiled and waved back. "Yeah," he said, probably too quiet for Steven to hear.

"I promise too, Steven."

* * *

The bus ride back to the warp pad was… boring.

Bus rides pretty much always were. Nothing but sitting there, sitting, sitting, for _hours_. There wasn't a lot of talking, because Pearl wasn't very talkative in general, especially when around others. And she didn't like him talking to strangers, especially this close to Beach City. He couldn't read, because reading on buses made him feel sick, and he couldn't draw for the same reasons. Normally he could listen to music, except that he hadn't charged his phone properly last night, and now there was only thirty percent battery left, and he was supposed to save it for emergencies.

For a while, Steven let himself zone out to try and have Visions, but those were no good either. All he got was images of different people sitting on the same bus, just as silent and just as bored as the people in the present.

He sighed, and tried to think up synonyms for boring, because Pearl was probably going to give him a vocabulary test by the end of the week. Dull. Tedious. Monogamous. No, wait, that was something else. Monotonous. Lame. Banal. Insipid.

Heh. _Insipid_ was a funny word.

He tried figuring out synonyms for other words too— first 'funny', then 'scary', then 'purple', just to try something different. He got tired of that, so he made up other games: counting the number of rivets and screws he could see, tracing the pattern of the seat cushion in front of him, noticing all the license plates on the cars that drove past, and revising the map of American states in his head…

It wasn't super entertaining, but it did help the hour and a half ride pass quicker.

They got off at a bus station in the middle of the countryside. They stopped for a while at a diner, and Pearl let him eat anything he wanted, so Steven got the biggest veggie burger they had, with a big side of fries and coleslaw, and a yummy chocolate shake, and pumpkin pie for dessert! And Pearl even had a bite too! Steven helped her figure out the tip, while she complained under her breath about what a ridiculous system this country had about having an invisible extra price not listed anywhere.

After that, they had a half-hour wait for the next bus to take. They'd grabbed bread rolls from the diner for a snack, and Steven took one of them, crumbled it up and scattered it on the ground. It wasn't long before a sparrow came to peck at it.

"Hello," Steven said.

The sparrow chirped a greeting.

"Is it tasty?" he asked.

" _Good food, good food_ ," the sparrow said, in between bites. " _Eat, eat, spring is here, eat._ "

"Yeah, but you should pace yourself," said Steven. "Once I ate a whole bibimbap by myself in like, five minutes, and then I threw it all up cuz that was too fast."

The bird said nothing, just stuffed its face with all the crumbs, not even leaving any for anybody else who might come by. Then it flew off without another word. Steven sighed.

"What is wrong?" Pearl asked.

Steven shook his head. "Nothing. It just wasn't very polite."

Pearl gave him a wan smile. "A shame. But I suppose that no one could have taught it proper manners yet."

"Yeah," Steven said, smiling a little. He couldn't really blame the sparrow. Animals had very different manners than either humans or Gems, and those manners varied from species to species, so it wasn't their fault if they seemed mean or distant.

Still, he couldn't wait to get home, where all the animals already knew him, and were sure to come and say hello.

* * *

"Oh Mr. Universe! You look tired!"

"Hey Rose." Greg stifled a yawn. "I am pretty beat, yeah."

Rose floated down to stand besides him, her dress fluttering in the wind, face creased in concern. "Why?"

"Eh. Just didn't sleep well last night," Greg said, rubbing his neck. Which wasn't a lie, really. But he hadn't even attempted to sleep last night, not with his son there.

"Why don't you just sleep now?" said another voice from behind him.

Greg nearly jumped in shock— but kept himself calm as Amethyst glided down in the form of a purple bird, only to turn into a person as she reached the ground. Her shape-shifting could be more than a little disorientating, and after two years, he still wasn't completely used to it.

"It's not that easy," said Greg. "I just can't sleep whenever I want."

Amethyst cocked her head. "Why not? I do."

"I've got a business to run," Greg said, jerking his thumb in the direction of the car-wash.

"Uggggggghhh. _Boring_ ," Amethyst moaned.

Greg grinned. "Is it? Then I guess I won't be giving you any more of those used sponges for you to snack on…"

"What! No! C'mon, Greg!"

Rose and Greg laughed, while he wandered around the far-side of the van and pulled a bucket full of sudden water. He felt around in it for a few moments, then grabbed the sponge, tossing it at Amethyst, who snapped it out of the air with her mouth. She burped, bubbles floating up into the air.

"But she's right," Greg said. "You guys don't want to hear about my dull ol' day at the carwash. What've you been up to?"

They didn't require much encouragement. The Crystal Gems had had a mission this past day, and Rose described in loving detail the place they'd gone to— a spire in the middle of the ocean, in an endless circular waterfall held out by magic, where fish could be see swimming and birds diving through the mist. She'd described the lovely statues, the art on the walls depicting Earth's life, the elegant fountains, the viewing platform from the top where one could see all the stars in the night sky…

Amethyst, meanwhile, had been much more interested in describing how she'd single handedly defeated like, _twenty_ crystal shrimp, and this thing Garnet had done where she'd punched a column to turn it into a bridge, and the light show when they'd returned the Sea Goddess Statue to its pedestal.

Greg listened, entranced. A single story like this could give him ideas for at least five full songs. But, of course, it was so much more important than just that.

' _Keep a watchful eye on the Crystal Gems_.' That had been one of Blue Diamond's final wishes. So although it had been hard, when Steven had turned ten years old— big enough that he no longer needed his old man keeping a constant eye— Greg had set out to fulfil it. He'd left behind the home he'd made in Korea, returned to the US, and settled down in Beach City.

It had turned some heads— famous rock star Mr. Universe retires to peaceful boardwalk town! But the people here had been real friendly, accepting him with open arms, and not just because he brought in hundreds of fans every time he played at the annual Beach-a-Palooza. The folks who lived here were a friendly, comfortable sort. Greg had easily settled into day-to-day life. He'd picked up a job at the carwash, more for something to do than any real need for money. He'd struck up a friendship with some of the locals, like Barb, Harold, and Vidalia.

He had never expected to become friends with the Crystal Gems. The plan had been to keep his distance, casually bring them up in conversation with people, figure out what he could about them. Keep his head down, don't attract their attention.

But the very first time he'd performed on the beach, Rose Quartz had been there. And when the show had ended, she'd come right up to him and _started talking_.

Rose Quartz. _The_ traitorous Rose Quartz. Leader of the Rebel Army. The one who had shattered Pink Diamond. The one, Blue had warned him, would shatter their son, if given half a chance.

It had taken all of Greg's willpower not to run away screaming.

But he'd somehow managed to keep his cool, and Rose Quartz had seemed to take his stuttering and shaking as _endearing_. He'd given her a free t-shirt and collector CD in the hope that it would satisfy her and get her to go away but it had just intrigued her more. She'd taken a _shining_ to him. She'd thought his space gimmick was 'cute'; that his music was 'wonderful'; and that he himself was 'adorable'.

It had been terrifying, and surprising, and more than a little overwhelming.

… It had also been really useful. After all, what better way to keep a watchful eye on the Crystal Gems than inviting their leader to come hang out at the carwash?

"— I think he fell asleep," Amethyst said, poking him in the thigh.

Greg shook his head, pulling himself back into the moment. "Whoops. Sorry. Got lost in thought."

Amethyst rolled her eyes, while Rose Quartz smiled magnanimously at him. "And what were you thinking about?"

"Uhhhhh," Greg said. "That I really got to buy a new set of car wash brushes. The old ones are getting pretty ragged."

The lie felt dull on his tongue, but what could Greg do? However nice and friendly the Crystal Gems acted, they were still the single biggest threat to his family.

He could never let himself forget that.


	2. Ruins

**Chapter Two: Ruins**

Steven stirred in his sleep, the morning light peeking through his eyelids. He smacked his lips together, his dry and parched mouth tasting uncomfortable. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and saw that Pearl was laying out a bowl and spoon on the table.

She must have heard him getting up, as she turned to look at him. She gave a quick bow. "Good morning, my Steven."

"Morning, Pearl. What's for breakfast?"

"Cereal this morning. If that is alright."

"Yeah, that's fine," Steven yawned as he walked over to the table and took his seat. The cereal was his favorite, the kind that crisped and popped when they got put in milk. And Pearl had even gone the extra step of putting banana slices into it. Steven smiled as he took his first bite. Pearl was always going the extra step. "So what's on the schedule for today, Pearl?"

"Well, after you finish eating and changing, I thought we would continue our Geography lesson on China," Pearl said. "And then you may pick which place we learn about next."

Over Steven's bed hung a map of the Earth, spotted all over with pins. Steven's home of Korea was marked with a blue pin, as was Dad's new home of Beach City. Everywhere else they'd studied so far had a pink pin. He studied the empty space of his map while he ate, considering.

"Ooh! Taiwan!" Steven said with a mouthful of cereal and milk. "When we went there, it was so pretty and awesome."

"Alright, Steven," Pearl said. "I will prepare the lesson when we finish our current subject."

"What's after lunch?"

"Then will be your Algebra lesson."

" _Augh_ ," Steven moaned. "But Algebra's boring. It's just formulas and numbers. Can't we skip to Trigonometry already?"

"Formulas and numbers are important."

"I guess," Steven said. He knew they were useful. You needed to know numbers so you had enough money to buy food and stuff. People used numbers to build inventions like cars and spaceships, to discover new things, to explore the universe. It was absolutely necessary.

But it wasn't really interesting. Steven was really glad he wasn't the son of a Peridot or a Morganite or something, because that would have been so _dull_.

"You needn't fret, my Steven," Pearl said. "You are very gifted with your Algebra lessons. With all your lessons, truly."

" _I know,_ " Steven sighed, swirling the remnants of his cereal in its bowl. "It's just so boring. I like learning about different places, and space stuff, and stuff."

The corners of Pearls mouth tightened, before she nodded at him. "I suppose we can push your Algebra lesson until tomorrow."

Steven leapt from his chair. "Yes! Thanks, Pearl!"

"But we _will_ do it tomorrow."

"I know, I know," Steven said. "So what are we going to do instead?"

"Hm. Well, I suppose we could do your Astronomy lesson today." Steven's eyes widened in elation at the suggestion. "However… I may perhaps have something else in mind."

"Really? What is it?" Steven asked, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Your father mentioned that, the other day, the Crystal Gems explored the Lunar Sea Spire," Pearl said.

Steven's brow crinkled. "The Crystal Gems? What were they doing there?"

"I cannot say, beyond destroying more monsters," Pearl answered. "Greg did not specify."

"Then we have to go!" Steven declared. "If the rebels are planning something there, then we need to stop them!"

"Ah, my Steven—"

"No way, Pearl!" Steven interrupted. "Mom said that one day I'd be able to stop the rebels."

"She did," Pearl conceded. "But only when you have mastered your powers. Which you have not."

Steven crossed his arms, sulking, "I've gotten better with them…"

"Yes. But to try and take on a Crystal Gem now… That is beyond your skill level, I'm afraid."

Steven continued sulking, hunching his head into his shoulders and gazing intently at the ground. "But it's not fair…"

"Perhaps. However, if we bring the Scanner and do a thorough sweep of the Spire, then I believe it should be safe for us."

"Yeah! And maybe we can figure out why the Crystal Gems were there," Steven said. He grabbed his bowl of mostly milk and drank it. He laid the bowl back on the table. "Okay, Pearl! Let's go!"

"First you need to get dressed. Then your Geography lesson. Then lunch, then afternoon break. _Then_ we'll go," Pearl said.

Steven sighed, but smiled at his caretaker. "Right. Okay, Pearl." He jogged to the dresser next to his bed and pulled out clothes to dress himself. He picked out one of his favorite shirts (black with a yellow star in the center), a pair of jeans, socks, and shoes. As he dressed and got ready, Steven heard Pearl behind him, placing the bowl and spoon in the wash basin for later, as well as readying a textbook and several sheets of paper.

Now out of his sleep clothes and dressed properly, there was only one last thing. Laying in the dresser was his blue hoodie. He grabbed it, taking a moment to press it against his face and feel the soft cotton against his skin.

Steven wore his hoodie most days. It had been a gift from Dad and Pearl, just before they moved out of the apartment and Dad went to Beach City and Steven and Pearl moved to the Palanquin. And while Steven did love living on the mountain in the Palanquin, when he was told two years ago that his father would be moving far away without him, it had upset Steven more than a little. So the night before his departure, Dad and Pearl gave Steven the hoodie. They said that when he wore it, especially with the hood up, he looked just like his mother. So all he would have to do is wear the hoodie and he could be big and brave like her.

He slipped the hoodie over his head, feeling instantly comforted by the snug pressure around his face. He dreaded the rising temperatures of the coming summer, when continuing to wear the jacket would become hugely uncomfortable, if not impossible.

"Alright, Pearl. I'm ready," Steven said as he turned around. However he saw that Pearl was still flipping through the Geography textbook.

"Forgive me, my Steven," she said, looking up from the book. "But our trip to Beach City left me a little… unprepared for your lesson today." She stood up straight, only to bow at him. "I'll need a little more time before I am ready."

"Okay, Pearl," Steven said. "I'm gonna wait outside until you're ready."

"Very well. But do not wander far. I will be done shortly."

"I won't," Steven assured as he walked past her and the table. "I just wanna see if maybe Nari is out and about. Ooh, or Tim! Maybe he finally found that stream he was looking for!"

Steven pushed past the Palanquin's curtain and stepped into the brisk mountain air. He inhaled deeply and took in the still rising sun in front of him. Dad had often said that he and Mom would lay on the mountain and watch the sunrise. Dad would play a song on the guitar and Mom would sing. They'd just lay there together and talk and enjoy each other's company.

Just thinking about it made Steven's cheeks shine bright red.

He began walking, nowhere in particular in mind, and whistled, high and sharp. He tried to call Nari, or to any bird who might know where she was… But he got no answers. Either no one knew or no one was around.

He continued going forward, past several hills of varying size, down slopes and up slopes, all while whistling for his friend. But still he received no response… Steven began to mentally go over spring food sources and the migrating seasons for the birds, when… he saw a tree.

It both was and wasn't an ordinary tree. It was ordinary in the sense that it did only what most trees did, convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and look rather lovely. It was unordinary, however in the sense of what it marked, what laid after it.

Steven couldn't see _it_ , but he knew it was there, just past the tree and behind the hill, draped in foliage and painted in pink, _her_ Palanquin.

He could begin to hear those familiar voices echoing in his mind:

 _"What are you doing here? I sent you off this planet."_

 _"I know. But I still have a duty here."_

Steven clamped his eyes shut and put his hands over his ears, though to no avail. "You're not real. This isn't happening now. It's not."

He heard the metallic edge of a sword being drawn from its scabbard, a cry, rapid running footsteps and—

"No!" Steven yelled as he stepped backwards. His voice echoed around him. And then, silence. Nothing but the gentle breeze and the rustling of the leaves in the tree. He opened his eyes and he was still on the mountain, still in today, the tree in front of him. With one last look, Steven turned and started back towards the Palanquin, first at a tr, then a jog, and finally a run.

He returned to the Palanquin, rushing past the curtain and nearly running into Pearl.

"Ah, my Steven. I was just about to call you." She paused and looked at him, tilting her head at him. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah. I'm fine, Pearl," Steven responded, trying to catch his breath

For a moment, it looked like Pearl was going to ask more questions, but instead she merely nodded at him and said, "Very well, my Steven. Come. Let's go to the study corner and begin your lesson."

"Alright, Pearl." Steven followed her to the pillowed location in the far corner of the Palanquin, doing his best to put the vision he'd had out of his mind and to focus on his upcoming lesson.

* * *

It was a bit of a walk from the Palanquin to the nearest warp pad, and a tricky one too, over uneven ground, through thick brambles, and at one point, dangerously close to the edge of a steep slope. When he'd been little, Pearl had always been super scared at that part, and insisted she carry him, but now he was big enough to do it all on his own.

Once Steven had asked why the warp pad was so far away, since it was so inconvenient. Pearl had explained it wasn't meant to be so isolated:, it'd had been intended to be in the centre foyer of a beautiful art gallery that had never gotten built. But it was also for safety, she'd said. It made sure none of their enemies could easily find them.

And the warp pad was really hard to find. Steven could, because he'd been to the place so many, many times, but it was really well hidden behind a bunch of bushes. Mom and Dad had planted them for that exact purpose, and they were super hard to get through unless you knew _just_ the right angle. He could fit in really well, but Pearl could never get through without getting at least a few leaves or twigs stuck in her hair. Steven giggled while he helped her take them out.

"Thank you, my Steven," she said, leading him up to the warp pad and activating it.

Warping was super fun; the chance to just float and spin around was the most wonderful feeling in the galaxy.

It was over too quickly, as always, and Steven nearly fell on his face. But for once, he didn't really mind. They had arrived at what had the most _beautiful_ of places.

They were standing on a rocky-outcropping near the bottom of an enormous, circular waterfall. Whereas in Korea the sky had been grey with overcast morning light, here it was the most brilliant of blue, the sunlight catching the endless stream of water and sending dazzling rainbows into the air. At the centre of a circle was a single, sheer tower, as perfect and pristine as if it had been built yesterday.

" _Wow_ ," Steven said, for lack of anything else to say.

"Indeed," agreed Pearl.

With a twirl of her hands and a flare of light from the gemstone on her chest, Pearl withdrew a small sphere. It was a Scanner, a highly advanced piece of technology for assessing nearby areas for threats- but Steven thought it kinda looked like a floating pink eye. The thing buzzed off to explore, and the two of them waited until it returned a few minutes later, beeping the all clear. Putting the Scanner away, Pearl nodded for Steven to go ahead.

There was a bridge leading over the water to the Spire, one without any walls or railings. Pearl warned him to be careful, but Steven couldn't resist. He stuck his hand out—

— and immediately felt it being sucked down.

He jumped back, heart pounding. He could've been pulled in!

"Be careful," Pearl repeated, voice mild as ever. Steven could still feel the quiet disapproval radiating from her, and drooped.

Still! It was cool! There had to be some kind of gravity sink at the bottom. Maybe to maintain the waterfall? But no, ordinary gravity would work just fine for that, so why would they have built something extra…?

Ah! It was a moat! A gravity moat! To keep enemies away!

 _So cool_.

They came to the Spire itself, and started up the long spiralling stairwell towards its top. It was a long walk, long even for Steven, who was used to hiking through the mountains, but they took lots of stops to look at stuff. There were all sorts of murals and alcoves and fountains and stuff. Plus, there were gulls that flew in and out of the mist, and Steven paused again and again to squawk ' _hi_ 's at them, and find out what kind of things they ate and stuff. They had to be the most super strongest birds ever, to be able to fly through the gravity field. Steven told them that, and they were all very flattered.

Steven liked history books quite a bit— liked to snuggle up under his covers with them, liked the feeling of paper beneath his fingers, liked it when Pearl would read aloud in her soft, soothing voice— but this was so much better. Getting out into the world, seeing where history had happened. Here he could _feel_ the weight of his mother's Empire, the things it stood for. This was his legacy. Gems, stretching across the universe, building beautiful places like this, sharing their greatness with the many worlds…

About half-way up the spire, they came across a circular room with a statue in the centre. Steven stopped to consider it. It was very pretty, carved out of a smooth, blue rock that shimmered faintly in the light, but… "Why does it have four arms?"

"It is a hybrid fusion."

Steven took a step back, stomach roiling with sudden nausea. Why would they have art of something like _that_ here?

Pearl laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Even things which are vile or unpleasant deserve depiction," she said. "Perhaps even more so than those things which are beautiful and pleasing."

It was a strange thought to consider, and Steven's brow furrowed as he tried to understand. "You mean like… you need to show people what things are bad, so they'll know not to do it?"

Pearl nodded.

Steven relaxed, although he still regarded the statue with discomfort. This was firmer ground. He recalled a quote from one of his human history textbooks, and recited, "' _Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it._ "

Again, Pearl nodded.

They stood there for a few moments longer, and then the two of them continued up the stairs.

By the time they arrived at the very top of the spire, Steven was huffing and puffing, and his legs ached, but it was worth it. The view was amazing. Water seemed to stretch on forever, in every direction. He ran from side to side, unable to contain himself.

Pearl simply stood in the spire's centre, twirling slowly as she took it all in. "I wish you could have seen how it used to be," she said, voice wistful. "It was an oasis for Gems on Earth. Fine cuts from all the Courts would come— to share our stories, to sing our songs, to show their dedication to our Diamonds—"

To illustrate, the gemstone at Pearl's breast grew bright, and from it bloomed a hologram. It superimposed itself in front of the world, a depiction of the same place, but how it had been thousands of years ago, Gems mingling among the fountains and art.

Steven stared at it, awestruck. And as he stared, the world _shifted—_

It was as though the projection had filled with colour and spread out to fill the entire world, encompassing him. Pearl had vanished, but there were so many other Gems instead, even other Pearls. He could see each of them in full detail: the vibrant colour of their clothes, their skin, their hair. He could hear them, too. Murmurs and laughter and a distant song…

Just as quickly as it came, it faded, and Steven was back in the present, staring at Pearl's pale holographic imitation. But his smile didn't fade.

"Pearl!" he cried. "I saw it, Pearl! So _clearly_!"

She placed a gentle hand on his head. "Excellent work, my Steven. Your Past Visions are coming along well."

Her hologram snapped off and the picture vanished, leaving the Spire empty once more.

Steven felt an an ache of emptiness in his chest too.

"It was so beautiful. And now there's no one left to see it. It isn't right." He asked, "Why?"

"The War," Pearl said, simply.

Steven shook his head. "Yeah, I know. But… why did there have to be a war? Why did the Crystal Gems have to ruin all of it?"

Pearl shook her head. She had no answers that could explain the rebels' treachery.

They stood their for a while, no sound but the roar of the waterfalls and the distant shrieks of gulls, desolate and abandoned.

Eventually, Pearl broke the silence. "We should return home, my Steven."

"No."

"Pardon?"

"No," Steven repeated. "I don't want to. If we leave, the Spire'll be lonely."

Pearl clasped her hands close to her chest. "The Spire is a building. It cannot be lonely."

The boy jutted out his chin. "Yes, it can."

"My Steven." There was the slightest undercurrent of annoyance to Pearl's voice. "You are not thinking sensibly. The Lunar Sea Spire will feel the same regardless if you are here or not. You, however, will get hungry."

Steven pulled the hood tighter around his head and stood straighter in an attempt to look more Diamondly. "We have food."

"Snacks," said Pearl. "If we return to the Palanquin I can prepare you a _proper_ meal—"

"I don't want a proper meal, I wanna stay!"

"I highly recommend that we—"

"I WANT TO _STAY_!" Steven said, this time with such force that he felt lightning crackle across his skin, saw it sparking out of the corners of his eyes.

Pearl stepped backwards.

She didn't like the lightning; it hurt her and it scared her, and the knowledge of that was enough to make Steven calm down a bit. The blue energy that encased his body faded slightly. But he was not going to budge.

"We're staying," he ordered.

Pearl bowed her head. "As you wish, my Steven."

oOoOoOo

 **Authors' Note:** Hey guys! Just want to say 'thank you' for all the kind comments and support people have been giving us. We're really excited to continue with this AU, and hope you're all enjoying the story.


	3. Recovery

_Note:_ A warning for some blood in this chapter.

 **Chapter Three: Recovery**

As far as Steven was concerned, his and Pearl's impromptu camping trip at the Lunar Sea Spire started off _great_.

There was more exploring to do, more poking his head into hidden crannies, more running up and down the stairs, more admiring the art, even a couple more visions of times long past. He kinda wanted Pearl to give more explanations, but he didn't want to risk her telling him to leave again, so he didn't ask for any.

When he started to get hungry, he ate a bag of chips. Pearl watched in silence.

He got his art book and pencils out, and started sketching. There was almost too much to focus on, too much to choose, but eventually he decided to draw a picture of the pretty little figurine that had been placed on a pedestal at the Spire's very top.

He had it about ninety-percent done when the light began to fade. Maybe he could have finished, but with the sunlight going, so did the warmth. His fingers were shaking a little from the chill.

Putting his supplies away and slipping his hands into his sleeves, Steven went for another walk to warm up, Pearl trailing silently behind. He chatted with the birds for nearly a full hour, and one of them— he named her Seafoam— was so nice that she even caught him a fish for dinner.

The problem, of course, was that he didn't have any way to cook it. He had a little box of matches in a safe pocket of his backpack, but nothing to burn it on. He looked through the Spire from top to bottom, but didn't find any wood. He found some kelp or seaweed or something on one of the lower levels, but it stubbornly refused to burn.

 _I could eat it raw_ , he thought. _Like sashimi._ Except the scaly, moist, un-cut fish lying on the stone floor looked very different from the nicely arranged plates of salmon, rice and vegetables he'd had at Japanese restaurants.

"We can take it home and cook it there," he said.

"Very well," Pearl agreed, moving to pick it up and put it in her gem.

"Tomorrow," Steven added. They still weren't leaving. Pearl stored the fish, and said nothing.

He ate cherry tomatoes and carrot sticks out of a plastic bag, and was left feeling hungry.

He really wish he did have a fire, just for the warmth. The mists which had been so pleasantly cool during the day were now getting downright cold, and even his hoodie couldn't completely keep the chill out.

Pearl could make her body warm, and cuddling with her sounded really nice just then, but that would have been paramount to accepting defeat, so he resolved to ignore it.

It was getting really dark now. Steven didn't feel particularly sleepy, but he supposed they were in a time zone that was further ahead than Korea's. Might as well go to bed.

Not that he had a bed, or even his sleeping bag, but that was what camping was about, right? He could use his backpack as a pillow and sleep on the floor.

The floor. Which was like, marble or something. And very hard. And very cold.

He laid there for hours, tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable, and not succeeding.

He could give up. Tell Pearl that she'd been right, that they should go home.

But no. He had wanted this.

And whatever a Diamond wanted, they got.

* * *

Pearl never slept, and so was well accustomed to keeping vigil over her half-human charge. That said, she could not remember a single night which seemed to last as long as that one did, not since Steven had still been an infant. It was deeply uncomfortable, almost painful, watching him turn this way and that the whole time, clearly getting almost no rest at all.

It was a relief when the planet's sun began to peek over the horizon. Pearl crouched down and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Let us go."

Steven blinked at her with groggy, red eyes. Pearl was deeply relieved when he didn't resist, simply giving her a mute nod.

They warped onto the pad, cleverly hidden as it was in the bushes. It was still night in this region of Earth and the darkness ensured that Pearl got several twigs and sticks in her hair. Steven did not help her get them out this time.

In fact, the only thing Steven did do was whine about Pearl carrying him back to the Palanquin. With it so dark and Steven so restless from a terrible night's sleep, Pearl didn't trust him getting so close to the slopes that they would have to pass by in order to get home.

"I'm fine, Pearl. You can put me down," he said. He squirmed a little, but otherwise put up little resistance to her carrying her, numb complaints aside. She was thankful for that. If he had protested more, then… she probably would have put him down.

They turned around a tall hill and before them was the Palanquin. It was only now that Pearl placed Steven on the ground. He awkwardly lumbered through the Palanquin's curtains, Pearl following after him.

Steven pressed a small button on the table and the Palanquin filled with brightness from the string of lights Pearl and Greg had hung from the walls.

"My Steven… what are you going to do now?" Pearl asked.

"I dunno," Steven returned flatly.

"Perhaps you should bathe and then try to get some proper sleep."

Steven grimaced at the light button. "I don't want to bathe tonight."

"But, my Steven, we were out late yesterday. The Spire was not the most sanitary of places and I believe that—"

"I'm not bathing!" Steven yelled. "I don't wanna and I'm not going to!" Without another word, he stormed off, throwing the Palanquin's curtain aside violently as he did.

Pearl ran her fingers through her hair, pulling as she did. Steven could be _so_ trying sometimes. Usually he was so agreeable, but when he wanted to do something, or not do something as the case may be, nothing could deter him.

 _No. That's not true._ ** _Greg_ **_is able to say 'no' to him and keep him from doing things that he otherwise shouldn't._

Greg made it look so easy. Last time they were all together, Steven had wanted to order chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast with chocolate milk and Greg had said no. Steven had complained, argued a little, but ultimately, he'd gotten the cheesy egg breakfast instead.

Pearl knew that, had _she_ told Steven no to the pancakes and milk, if he had then insisted, she would have given them to him. And most likely, it would have made him sick and even if it hadn't, all that chocolate couldn't be healthy for him. Humans had such strict dietary requirements.

It was so hard to just say _'no'_ to him. It felt… unnatural. Dangerous even. After all, she had never said no to Blue Diamond, and with good reason. Pearl served her Diamond, unquestionably. The same was to be expected of her when serving her son, the bearer of her gem.

Pearl let go of her hair and folded her hands in front of her.

She loved Steven, she knew that, even if the subtleties of the human term still felt beyond her grasp. She'd cared for him since he was born. And it had been her Diamond's final order for Pearl to serve him as faithfully as Pearl had served her.

And that's what she did. She loved him and cared for him. So she served him, just as she had her Diamond.

She squeezed her own hands tightly.

What else was she to do?

Serve him, of course. No matter what. Even when he—

A scream pierced through the air.

 _His_ scream

It yanked Pearl out of her own head. Her eyes raised and she looked around, but she was alone in the Palanquin still.

Another scream, this one louder with a plea on it, " _Please~_! Don't hurt her—"

In an instant, Pearl discerned where the scream was coming from and _who_ the scream was coming from. Silently she leapt from where she stood and dashed out of the Palanquin, past the hill, down the slope, and behind the trees.

Past all that, was the other Palanquin, the ruined one, still painted in vivid pink even after all these millennia. And bowed, on his knees, was Steven. He held his head in his hands and was shaking, visibly shaking, all over. Pearl rushed to his side, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him close.

"It's okay, it's okay," she cooed softly into his ear. "You're on the mountain. She can't hurt you."

"I-I saw her," Steven whimpered as he pushed his face into Pearl's shoulder, no doubt smearing it with tears and snot. "I saw her shatter Pink Diamond and then she looked at me and—"

"She did not," Pearl responded gently, petting the back of his head. "It was merely a vision of the past. You were not there that day, my Steven."

Slowly, Steven stopped trembling, his breathing levelled, and his sobbing stopped. He pulled away and looked up at her. His eyes were red and swollen and his face was still tear stained. There were a few sparks of lightning flickering around his fingers, enough to make Pearl wary, but she knew it was not aimed at her, knew that the boy wouldn't try to harm her. Hesitantly, he spoke, "Why did she do it, Pearl? Why did Rose Quartz shatter Pink Diamond?"

"To sow chaos, my Steven. Beyond that, I cannot say."

Steven looked down at the space on the ground between them before slowly getting to his feet, Pearl following suit. "That she gets to keep walking around, unpunished after shattering so many Gems… It's unfair."

"It is," Pearl agreed. "And perhaps one day you will be able to mete out justice to the remnants of the Rebellion. But, until then…"

"Yeah…" Steven reached over and grabbed her hand. "Let's go to the Palanquin."

"And… perhaps get you cleaned up?"

Steven nodded. "Yeah. I could use it, I guess."

Pearl smiled softly at him as she led him back towards home.

Love and care for him, serve him as she did Blue Diamond.

What else was there to do?

* * *

There was a human on the beach.

Amethyst wasn't sure what to do about this.

For the last fifty odd years, the unofficial 'rule' had been "No humans near the Temple." Well, maybe the rule had been going on for longer than that, on and off, but when new colonizers from Europe had showed up, they hadn't had the same sense as the locals about how dangerous it was to set up camp right next to the Crystal Gem Temple. The place was a magical beacon, one of the only things that got through monsters' corrupted minds, and it drew them like catnip. So the Crystal Gems put up a fence and signs to try to make sure no humans would wander in at a bad time and get themselves killed.

(And if the fence going up had coincided with the death of Rose's then most recent human friend… well, probably just a coincidence.)

But not that long ago, Rose had adopted a new human friend. Pearl didn't like him, of course— she really didn't like any of Rose's humans— and Garnet thought it was probably unwise, since the guy was fairly old for a human, so it'd have to end even sooner… but Amethyst thought he was pretty cool, old or not. He played fun music, and had _rad_ long hair, and was always giving Amethyst lots of tasty snacks. She'd been the one who'd suggested putting a door in the fence so Greg could visit more often, and Rose had been more than happy to accept.

The door wasn't locked, cuz it didn't need to be. The locals all kept their distance, so Greg was the only one who ever used it.

Or normally, he did. Today, another human had. Amethyst stood a little down the beach, watching her.

It was a _her_ , Amethyst was pretty sure. She was dressed like most human women— or girls, since she looked pretty young. Brown skin, brown hair, big glasses. Cute green dress with a neat bow and yellow boots. She was sitting under the cliff, reading the book.

She probably wasn't meant to be there, all told. But Amethyst didn't just want to tell her to just— go away. She should at least be able to have some fun first, right? The good old 'talking animal trick', maybe. That was always good for a few laughs.

With a flash of purple light (that the girl didn't even notice), Amethyst transformed into a crab. It was a bit of a tricky shape— so many legs!— but a fun one, once you got the hang of it. She clicked her pincher experimentally, wiggled her eyestalks, and set off across the sand towards the human.

Amethyst wouldn't actually hurt her, of course. Just startle her.

There was a cracking sound, and then, Amethyst saw it. A chunk of rock, coming loose, _right above the girl_ —

She didn't think. Amethyst leapt, jumping out of her crab shape, springing at the human—

— Amethyst slammed into her, and the girl screamed at the impact, the two of them thrown across the sand. Amethyst screamed too, as she felt something **heavy** crash into her back. A moment of pain, of dust, of human blood, of the girl's wide brown eyes beneath her—

— then blackness.

* * *

Greg's plan for the afternoon had been nothing more complicated than washing the car with the help of Rose Quartz to try to get more details out of her, grabbing some dinner from the Fry Shack, then heading over to Vidalia's place for Saturday night cards.

It was interrupted by a Garnet's frantic cry from down the boardwalk: "Rose! Rose!"

Rose Quartz immediately spun around, dropping her bucket, and Greg turned too. Garnet _never_ sounded frantic.

And here she was, charging up the boardwalk, like a monster was hot on her heels.

Except, there was no monster behind her. There was, however, something in her arms. Greg couldn't recognise it at first, but as he got close, he saw it was some kid in red—

No. Not red. Green. But her dress was stained red, stained with _blood_.

Greg felt the stomach drop out from under him.

 _"The rebels are killers,"_ Blue had told him. Had— had Garnet, t-the _fusion_ — had she done this?

But then, why would Garnet look so grim?

"Falling rocks," Garnet explained, as Rose and Greg rushed to meet her. The girl in the fusion's arms moaned in pain. She was still alive, still conscious, even! It was her hand that was bloody— so bloody, Greg couldn't tell how bad it was. But there were already bruises all the way up her left arm, and he was afraid of how much worse it was under her clothes. Maybe she wouldn't be alive for much longer.

"Give her to me," Rose said, voice soft. Soft too, were her hands, as she took the girl into her arms. "Stay with me, child."

Greg's heart was beating fast, and he was already fishing around in his back pocket for his phone, barely paying attention to the scene playing out in front of him. Rose's face was scrunched up, she was crying, the tears streaming down her face—

Aha! His phone! Greg grabbed it, and rapidly punched in the numbers _9-1-1_.

Rose Quartz's tears fell onto the girl's body, which was suddenly encased in shimmering pink sparkles. The girl's groaning subsided.

"911, what's your emergency?" came a voice from the phone.

"There's been an accident," Greg stammered out. "At Beach City, near the boardwalk— _It's A Wash_ carwash—"

The girl was sitting up. She was rubbing her head with her right hand, blinking in confusion at her left. "What— what happened?"

The emergency dispatcher was asking the same question.

"A young girl— rocks fell on her?" Greg stammered. "On her left side— her hand looks really bad, there's a lot of blood—"

"I feel fine," the girl said, shaking her head, as if waking up from a sleep. She looked around at Garnet, then at Rose, who was still holding the girl in her lap. "What did you do?"

"I healed you," Rose Quartz said, but she didn't look very happy. Relieved, perhaps, but regretful, too. "Almost completely. You will be safe. But, I apologize, child— I could not save your finger."

"How severe is the injury, sir? Sir?" the voice on the phone was saying, and from the tense nature of the tone, Greg realized they must have asked a few times already.

The girl was holding up her left hand, fingers spread out. Four of them. She was staring in horror at the giant gap where her index finger was meant to be.

"Uhhhhh." Greg had no idea how to answer. "Bad. Really bad."

" _An ambulance is on its way, sir. Should be there in the next eight minutes. For now, try not to move the body, and if she's conscious, keep her that way. Try to stem the flow of blood…_ "

And so the emergency operator continued, giving Greg advice that no longer seemed to apply. There wasn't a blood flow to stem anymore. Instead, garnet had gotten the water bucket and was holding it out to the shell-shocked girl, who stared at it for a moment, then plunged her hand in and washed. When it came out, the hand looked perfectly normal, aside from the obvious missing finger. There should have been a jagged, red, open wound. Instead, the skin was sealed over like a scar that had healed years ago.

"Why— how—"

"I must have left the finger on the beach," Garnet said. "Sorry. I didn't realize."

"It's alright," Rose Quartz said.

The girl stared at Garnet, opened her mouth, then closed it again. When she opened it again, the question she asked was, "Where's the girl who saved me?"

"Girl?" Greg echoed, finally ending the 911 call. Then he noticed there was still one other thing in Garnet's hands. A purple rock.

 _Amethyst_.

Greg had known that Gems could be damaged enough that their bodies got destroyed, leaving nothing but the gemstones behind. But it was one thing to hear about it, quite another to actually _see_ it.

The fusion didn't explain any of that. She just said, "She'll be here soon."

The girl had almost been crushed by falling rocks, but then Amethyst had done something to save her. Something dangerous enough that she'd gotten crushed instead. And then Garnet had brought the still-injured girl to Rose Quartz, and Rose Quartz had _healed_ her—

And the poor girl was looking overwhelmed.

Greg got it. Gems, however nice they may or may not have been, were pretty much always overwhelming.

So he crouched down next to the kid, who looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. "Hey," he said gently. "What's your name?"

"Connie," the girl said, voice surprisingly level as she pulled out of Rose's arms and stood up. "Thanks for helping me. What— who are you guys?"

Greg introduced the Gems first, then himself. "Mr. Universe. But you can call me Greg."

He knew the ambulance was going to be there soon, but it seemed to him that Connie could do with some distraction, and it wasn't right, keeping her sitting there in that bloody dress. He lead her to the car-wash toilet, along with a spare t-shirt from the merch box he kept around. It was one of the biggest sizes, so when she came out, she was wearing the red star t-shirt like a dress. Her actual clothes were placed in a plastic bag. Greg wondered if those were the kind of stains that could be removed.

"Thanks for the shirt," Connie said. "My parents can pay you back…"

Greg shook his head. "Don't even worry about it. On the house."

Rose Quartz and Garnet were still waiting outside… along with Amethyst, no longer just an inert stone, apparently. "Hey!" she yelled, waving at Connie. "Nice to see you're not dead!"

"Uh. Yeah," said Connie. "You're the one who pushed me out of the way of those rocks. You saved my life!"

"Eh, all in a day's work!" Amethyst swept her long hair back in a dismissive gesture.

And it _was_ long hair, Greg realized, with a start. Last he'd seen Amethyst, her hair hadn't even reached past her shoulders, but now it was practically touching the ground.

Amethyst noticed him staring, and grinned. "Like it?" she asked. "I saw how you were rocking it, and thought, man, I gotta try that too."

Greg nodded numbly. She'd changed her hair because of _him_?

Amethyst turned back to Connie. "And you! You gave me some great ideas for my new duds!"

Connie cocked her head, looking Amethyst over. "The bow," she said, suddenly smiling when she saw it on the hem of Amethyst's purple sweater. "Like on my dress. And my boots! After saving me you went to grab a… a change of clothes like mine?"

"In a sense," said Rose Quartz.

Amethyst grinned even more broadly. "Yep! So thanks!"

"Well, you're welcome, I guess. Consider it repayment for saving me," Connie said. She looked immensely confused, but confusion was probably better than panicking, so Greg would take it. Greg fished out a half-finished box of donuts from his van and handed it out to her, on the premise that there weren't a lot of problems that a donut couldn't help solve. A little hesitantly, she took one.

In a few minutes, an ambulance would arrive, looking for an injured girl, and finding one unharmed aside from a case of shock, a bag of bloody clothes, and a healed stump where a finger should be. There would be questions, he was certain: from the paramedics, and later, Connie's family. Greg would do his best to answer them. Until then, he'd sit with Connie, and try to make sure she was as comfortable.


	4. Gifts

**Chapter Four: Gifts**

Rose Quartz found it hard to put exactly what she loved so much about human beings into words.

There were so many things that attracted her to them. The way they looked so like Gems, yet exhibited a variety of appearances and personality that far exceeded anything within her own species. The way that every single one of them was unique, bound to have a completely different experience from anyone else. The way they grew and changed, from a baby to a child to an adult. The way they were able to accomplish so much in such short time. But perhaps the part she liked most was the ' _being_ '. Human being. Humans didn't come into the world without any intended job or specific purpose. They just had to exist. To _be_.

What exactly did she love so much about Mr. Universe?

Well, there was his creativity. She'd always adored human artists, and Mr. Universe's songs were so vibrant and energetic.

And he was kind! He'd been so gentle with Amethyst's new human friend Connie. He'd never even met the child, but he'd still given her food and clothes, and sat with her until the (rather unnecessary) human medics had arrived.

He was _humble_ , too. It had been so, well, cute, to see him perform in front of hundreds of humans, all screaming and cheering his name, and then the moment _she'd_ come up to him, he'd gotten bashful and blushing.

Rose would have almost thought he was scared of her— which wouldn't have been particularly unusual. It was a common reaction of humanity to Gems. That, or worship, which was almost worse. But if Greg Universe had been scared, he had pushed through that fear enough to give her gifts, and talk to her, and spend time with her.

And Rose was so glad of that. He was a very interesting human, who'd lived a very interesting life. He'd seen so much of the Earth. So had Rose, of course, but it was always lovely getting to hear about it from a human perspective. And he was curious about her life in turn— what the Crystal Gems did, how their magic worked, where their missions took them, where they had come from.

Some of the questions treaded on painful memories, and Rose could not help but avoid answering them. But others she answered as truthfully as she could, and the genuine interest than rang in his voice was more than enough to make up for any discomfort he may have inadvertently caused.

Rose Quartz was just telling Mr. Universe about what the sun looked like from space, outside from the shielding of the Earth's atmosphere, and it was such a joy, seeing the way his eyes glittered like stars themselves.

"I wish I could see it," he remarked.

"Well," Rose mused, "maybe you can…"

Mr. Universe tilted her head at her in curiosity.

She could take him into her room, of course. Generating a model of the sun would be a bit difficult for it, but not impossible. However, her room had a tendency to do strange things when she was distracted… and she found Mr. Universe rather distracting.

Thankfully another solution occurred to her. She opened the door to her room, and called into the Temple, "Pearl? Could you come out?"

" _Coming_!" said a voice from in the distance.

Rose closed her door, and a moment later, Pearl's door re-opened. She stepped out, an eager smile on her face— one which faltereda bit when she saw Mr. Universe.

"Yes?" Pearl asked.

Rose smiled at her. "Didn't you once pick up a mirror at the Galaxy Warp?" Pearl nodded. "Did you keep it?"

"Of course!" said Pearl. She fell into a stance and let a high pitched kiai shout, launching into one of the most elaborate and unnecessary summoning dances she'd ever choreographed, the one that never failed to put a ridiculous grin on Rose's face. Out of Pearl's gem floated a mirror, forged from silver and glass, a cracked tear-drop shape on its back. Rose plucked it easily from the air.

"What is it?" Mr. Universe asked.

"A mirror, obviously," said Pearl. "But one most likely designed to record every place it's ever seen, and allow the user to replay those events."

"Woah," breathed Mr. Universe.

"Isn't it wonderful? Now you have the chance to see the sights of the universe for itself, _Mr. Universe_ ," Rose Quartz trilled. She leaned over the human, tilting the mirror's face so that the both of them were reflected in its surface. "Show us the the sun!"

Nothing happened.

Mr. Universe started in anticipation. Rose repeated the request, and still nothing happened, she drooped a bit in disappointment.

Pearl came over, shaking her head. "If it was made on planet, it's probably never seen the sun." She took the mirror from Rose and said, "Show me the galaxy warp!" Still nothing happened. "Show us the galaxy warp! Oh, come on, I know you've seen it!"

"It's alright, guys, don't worry about it…" Mr. Universe was saying.

"I suppose it's damaged," Rose said, taking the mirror back from Pearl. She turned it around, inspecting the lapis lazuli stone embedded there. Rose ran a finger down the jagged crack which had nearly split it in two. It was a shame, really. A Gem, a _person_ , had been sacrificed to make this mirror… no doubt her consciousness was long gone by now, and now that it had been broken, that sacrifice had been for nothing. But… "Maybe I can fix it."

Pearl laid a light hand on her arm, a slight warning there. She suspected that Rose's tears wouldn't do the job— not for a a gem so badly broken, not for a gem with its powers so constrained.

"I still think it's awesome, even if it doesn't work the way it's meant to," Mr. Universe said. "After all, if every porkchop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs."

Rose and Pearl exchanged confused glances.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pearl asked.

"It's a metaphor," Mr. Universe said, rubbing his arm and explaining about pigs, and pork chops, and processed meats, and it really was a lovely analogy— even if it did make Rose's mouth water. (It made Pearl's cheeks turn a little blue, but then, she'd never quite been able to tolerate the sensation of eating).

"So this mirror is a… hot dog?" Rose asked.

"Yep!" said Mr. Universe. "A very nice one, too."

"Well then." Rose grasped Mr. Universe's hands, and pressed the mirror into them. "Why don't you keep this as a gift?"

The human gaped. "What? Seriously, for me?"

Rose Quartz laughed. "That's what I said!"

Pearl muttered something under her breath Rose didn't quite catch. "What was that?"

"I— I was just saying, are you sure that's a... _wise_ idea, Rose?" said Pearl.

"Of course it is. That mirror deserves to be with someone who appreciates it!"

Mr. Universe was shaking his head, staring at the object in his hands. "I just— wow. I don't even know what to say! Thanks!"

"You're very welcome," said Rose, patting him on the shoulder, taking care to be gentle.

He stumbled through a few more repeated apologies, which were delightful to watch, then excused himself, citing 'paperwork'. Rose watched him go, a smile playing on her lips all the while.

As soon as he was gone, Pearl came up to her, mouth pursed. "I'm not sure that was a good idea. What if the mirror is dangerous?"

"Do you think it might be?" asked Rose.

"Not… really, no."

"Then it's silly to worry," Rose said. "It made him happy. And this way, it won't take up space in your gem. It's a 'win-win' for everyone, as they say."

"I suppose…" Pearl said.

She still didn't look particularly happy, so Rose reached out, cupped her face in a gentle hand. Pearl looked up, eyes crinkling into a smile, as Rose bent down and pressed a light, sweet kiss onto her lips. Pearl leaned in, giving a little sigh as their bodies pressed together.

When the two were done, Rose straightened, and made her way to Temple. She had work to do in the burning room. Experiments. Another theory on how to heal the corruption… a bit of a long shot, perhaps, but it had promise. With any luck, it would work.

In Rose's memory hung the menacing image of the Red Eye drawing towards Earth.

It had to work. It _had_ to. Who knew how much time they had left for experimenting?

* * *

"Empire City! Let's go to Empire City!" Steven sang, rather off-key, bouncing up and down on the hotel bed, thoroughly destroying its neatly folded sheets and perfectly arranged pillows.

"We're already here," Pearl pointed out, with a faint, amused smile.

Steven grinend. "Yeah, I know!"

"Doesn't matter where you are," Greg chuckled, setting his guitar case in the corner, "the music will still flow. And there aren't many cities more musical than Empire City! Home of jazz! Birthplace of hip hop! Land of musical theatre!"

Pearl found herself smiling despite herself: the pair's enthusiasm was infectious. She didn't have much of an opinion on Empire City, herself— from what she'd seen of it so far, it seemed much like any other human settlement, albeit bigger than any of the others she'd visited. And noisier, and smellier, and more crowded…

It gave her pangs for Homeworld, and _its_ cities— each of them a hundred times larger than anything on Earth, each of them built of shimmering stone, perfectly clean and perfectly organized, where no one would ever bump anyone else in the streets.

But it didn't matter how she felt. What mattered was that this was the perfect place for Steven and his father to meet up. The trip between Beach City and the nearest (safe) warp pad was a long one, and by necessity, any visits there had to be short ones. But Empire City was a halfway between the two places, significantly reducing travel time. Furthermore, it was on neutral ground, far beyond the jurisdiction, as it was, of the Crystal Gems. This meant that Steven and Greg could spend a full 'long weekend' together. It would certainly be delightful.

Pearl helped the pair unpack their things, while Steven excitedly pored through the dozens of tourist pamphlets he'd spread out on the hotel room's desk. "Where should we go first?" he asked. "Should we go to Stonegalla Centre? Or maybe a museum? Or walk through Middle Park? Or see Times Circle? Or, ooh, we could go on a river cruise!"

"Woooooah, slow down there bud," said. Greg. "We can do whatever you like. But first, your old man's got something for ya."

Steven's eyes filled with diamonds. "What is it?! What?!"

Pearl stifled an amused grin as Greg rifled around in his duffle bag, then pulled out something extensively wrapped in the shiny, coloured paper customary for human gift exchanges. Steven tore through it into a layer of bubble wrap beneath, which he immediately began popping. Pearl warned him against this, advising that if the object was fragile, it would probably require that protection during the trip back to Korea.

"Oh, right," Steven said, pouting a little, but proceeding more carefully. Slowly he unwrapped something silver that glinted in the light. "A mirror!"

"That's right!" Greg said. "Do you like it?"

"It's so pretty!" Steven squealed.

Greg chuckled, exchanging a fond look with Pearl. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Steven was peering delightedly at his reflection, and began to recite a passage Pearl recalled from one of his animated films. " _Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest one of all?_ " When he saw his own reflection, he giggled. "Flatterer!"

 _What a lovely gift,_ Pearl thought, beginning to turn away—

— and then she saw the gemstone on the mirror's back.

Something like an electric jolt shot through her core. She stood straighter. "Mister Gregory Universe," she said, "may I discuss something with you in private?"

"Uhhhh… sure," said Greg.

"With the mirror," Pearl added.

Greg frowned, but nodded, and went to take the mirror back from Steven. The boy didn't want to relinquish his gift. "But I only just got it!"

" _Steven_ ," Greg warned.

That single word was all it took to make the boy let go and give a mumbled 'sorry'. Pearl could have shook her head. _How does he do that?_

( _By not being a Pearl._ )

Pearl led Greg to the room's bathroom, careful to close the door firmly behind them. Thankfully it was a large space which left them plenty of space. Pearl hesitated a moment, gathering herself, then said, "Where did you get that?"

"From the Crystal Gems."

" _What?_ How?"

"Rose Quartz gave it to me as a gift."

Pearl snatched the thing from Greg's hands. "Why?"

He shrugged. "I dunno, really. I thought it was pretty, and she said I might as well have it. I think she's kinda trying to pay me back for the merchandise I gave her, back at that concert."

Pearl was torn between staring at the human, and the object he'd brought with him. "It could be dangerous."

"I… don't think so, Pearl," said Greg. "It didn't work for Rose Quartz or the other Pearl. They said it was broken. And when I took it home, I like, triple checked it myself. I mean, if you really think it's a threat, obviously we'll do something about it… but I just figured, it's something from Steven's heritage, y'know?"

She let out a small huff of air through her mouth, a human habit that Pearl was ashamed to admit she'd picked up. Greg was not wrong. Steven had precious little that had belonged to his mother. The stone on the mirror's back was even a lapis lazuli, a gem which fell under the purview of Blue Diamond's court. By all rights, it should belong to Steven.

But… "What if it is a trap?"

"That's… a possibility, I guess." Greg rubbed his arms. "But the Crystal Gems think I'm just a random guy. They wouldn't have any reason to give me a trap. And..."

Pearl waited for him to finish the sentence, but he seemed to be struggling with the words. "Yes?" she prompted.

He sighed. "I just think… maybe… maybe the Crystal Gems might not be as bad as we thought?"

Pearl said nothing. She just stared.

"It's just— look, I know what Rose Quartz did, and the war they started. But these guys, they really don't _act_ like soldiers. They're… pretty nice, really, for the most part. They keep the town protected from monsters, and a few weeks ago they saved this kid's life… Do you think Blue maybe got something wrong?"

For a moment, Pearl saw a flash of memory— _the Rebel Pearl, face sharp, sword in one hand, the other open and extended towards her. "Come with us," she said, "please."—_

Pearl blinked the image away.

"Blue Diamond was not mistaken," she said.

Greg ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah," he said. "I guess you're right. It's just… Maybe they've changed, you know?"

Pearl thought of Steven, hunched over on the ground, body sparkling with lightning as he was forced to live through the moment of Pink Diamond's shattering, again and again.

"I am not willing to risk Steven's life on that," she said.

Greg flinched.

Pearl nearly flinched as well. That was not an insult she had intended to give. She knew how completely dedicated Gregory was to his son.

"My apologies—" she began.

"No, no, it's alright," Greg said, raising a hand. "You're right. We need to be careful. We can just... get rid of the mirror. Not sure how, and I know Steven will be disappointed, but I should've talked to you before giving it to him."

Pearl turned the mirror over and over in her hands, considering it. Aside from the cracked gemstone its back, it looked and felt like a completely ordinary mirror. There were no sparks of light, no signs of magical influence. Perhaps she had been hasty in her judgement. Panicked.

"I will look it over," she suggested. "Check it myself for signs of danger. If I find none, we can return it to him."

Greg smiled. "Really? Okay, that's a great idea, Pearl. Thanks."

And then he hugged her.

Pearl stiffened a little at the unexpected physical contact. It was a common experience with Greg. In the time that she'd known the human, it still hadn't gotten any less strange. Pearl suspected that if she asked, he would stop, but Pearl never did. The hugs weren't entirely unpleasant. Just a little overwhelming.

When he pulled out of the embrace, Pearl said, "I'll get started on the analysis immediately."

"No need to do that. It can wait. Come on, join us for a little sightseeing."

Pearl gave him a faint smile. "It's quite alright."

"No, seriously, we'd love for you to come!"

Pearl pressed her hands (and the mirror) to her chest, bowing her head. "Very well."

Greg paused, his enthusiasm fading a little. "Wait— Pearl. If you really don't want to come, you don't have to. I just don't want you feeling left out."

"... Are you certain?" Pearl asked, after a pause.

"Yeah!" said Greg.

"Then I believe I would prefer to stay here," said Pearl.

"Okay then," said Greg, smile returning to his face. "Whatever you want."

 _Oh. If only it was that simple._


	5. Sightseeing

**Chapter Five: Sightseeing**

"Two please," Greg said, holding up two fingers to the man behind the cart. The guy nodded silently, reached into the heating box and removed two glorious, delicious looking slices of Empire City-Style pizza.

Greg paid the man, before grabbing a paper plate and laying one of the slices on it and handing it to Steven, who looked at it in wonderment.

"Wow…" he cooed as he carefully looked over the huge piece of dough, sauce, and cheese.

"Wow's right," Greg said, folding his slice and taking a bite out of it. The melty cheese and the thin layer of grease on the pizza was _incredible_. "A truth in life, son. All the best food comes from carts and trucks."

Steven nodded as picked up his slice and tried to fish the tip of the drooping pizza into his mouth.

Greg chuckled, "Easy, bud. Fold it, like I did." He nodded at the folded slice on his hand.

"Oooh. Right," Steven said, folding the pizza as shown and taking a bite. His face brightened as he chewed and took in the authentic flavor. "It's so _good_ …"

"Yep. And don't let anyone tell you that Chicago-style is better."

"Better than this?" Steven asked taking another bite. "No way."

They idly strolled to a bench in the park and sat down, eating their pizza and taking in the sights of people going about their business.

Greg took another bite, savoring it before he swallowed it. He let his hand fall to the bench and felt his fingers brush against something. At first he pulled his hand back, afraid that he had touched old bubblegum someone had stuck to the bench. But when he looked down, what he saw nearly made him choke on his pizza.

"Oh, man!" he coughed, pounding on his chest in an effort to help the pizza go down easier.

"What is it, Dad?" Steven asked, looking concerned.

"Nothing," Greg reassured. "It's just- well, come over here."

Steven did so, putting what was left of his pizza on his plate and setting it on his seat. He walked over to Greg's other side and bent down, looking to the side of the bench.

Steven squinted at the worn, weathered wood. "Umm… I don't- Oh! Right here!" He pointed just a little to the side of where Greg had been pointing. "Is something… written here?"

Greg chuckled, "Not written, so much as carved. Can you see what it says?"

"Hmm… Yeah, it looks like three letters. 'S'... 'B'... 'G'?" Steven looked up at Greg. "What does that mean?"

"Well, I'll tell ya, sport," Greg said. "I put those letters there. Almost… oh boy, almost sixteen years ago now."

"Why'd you do that?" Steven asked. "Isn't that against the law?"

Greg grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Technically, yeah. But… I was a dumb kid. A dumb kid in _love_ ," Greg settled back, taking another bite of pizza.

"In love?" Steven asked, diamonds in his eyes. "Does that mean that…" his voice dropped to a squeaky whisper. "This has to do with Mom?"

" _Heh_ , yeah it does," Greg conceded. He patted the bench next to Steven's pizza. "Why don't you sit here and I'll tell you the story?"

Steven quickly scampered back to his seat, scooping the pizza back into his lap as he looked at Greg expectedly.

"Okay," Greg began. "Well, this was… man, must of been only a year or two after I met your mom. Anyway, she spent most of her time with Pearl in the Palanquin. I went up to visit her whenever I could in between shows and stuff."

"She never came down from the mountain?" Steven asked.

"Not that I knew of. She'd have caused a bit of a stir, after all, and I think she was kinda shy, if ya can believe it. So that's why, one day, when I went up to the mountain and suggested she let me show her what else was out there."

"Ohhh~" Steven cooed. "You wanted to take her out on a date~!"

Greg felt himself blushing a little. "Yeah, I guess I did." He smiled at the warmth of the memory. "At first, I just wanted to take her down to the town at the foot of the mountain. But then I thought, 'No. Blue deserves to see the best. You gotta take her to _Empire City_ '."

Steven gasped in wonderment, before his expression promptly dropped. "Wait… Mom was a _giant_. And you said she _didn't_ want to cause a stir."

Greg laughed. "Yeah, I did. But Blue was clever, and she had a plan." He held his hand out flat and slowly began to lower it as he continued, "She just shapeshifted herself smaller."

"And she didn't hurt herself?"

"Nope. Blue knew what she was doing. Though…" Greg tapped his chin. "We did at one point have to duck into an alley so she could briefly grow big again. She said she just needed a quick break."

"Ohh… So what did you and Mom do when you got here?" Steven asked.

"Basically what you and me are doing, shtoo-ball. We walked around, took in the sights. I even thought ahead and got us tickets to a show."

"Just like you did with me, you, and Pearl this time!" Steven said.

"Yep. What can I say? I like a good musical." Greg looked at the park proper and at all the people going about, but his mind was still in the past. He let his hand drift back towards the carved initials and felt the weathered inscription under his fingers. He sighed heavily. "Your mother, Steven… Like, before our trip, she was starting to really get into poetry."

"Really?" Steven asked.

Greg nodded. "She'd always been interested in it, but had never been able to practice it because of all the stress and responsibilities she had. But when I met her…" He chuckled again. "She was such a natural talent. Her singing, then her poetry, _then_ she started taking up painting… Your mother was… _amazing._ "

"Mom sounds really talented," Steven said.

"She had the gift, to be sure. The poetry especially became a… thing between us."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" Greg said, stroking his beard and wondering how he could put this for Steven. He began slowly, "What your mom went through, losing Pink Diamond and the lack of support she got… it weighed on her a lot. So… seeing her smile was a bit of a rarity at times."

Steven nodded silently, enraptured by Greg's story.

"But when she was working on her latest bit of poetry, she was _always_ smiling. Even when we came to Empire City, she'd stop in front of a trash can, or a squirrel, or tree and just start composing a short poem right there. And she'd be smiling the whole time," Greg said. "So whenever she was… not feeling great, I'd point to something, anything, and ask 'What do you think, Blue? You think you got a poem for that?' And she'd just laugh and say, 'Perhaps. Would you like to help me?'"

"Aww… you and Mom writing poetry together," Steven said.

"Yep. She gave me a lot of inspiration for song lyrics. The time I spent with your mother was some of the best," Greg said. "Our trip to Empire City just crystallized that for me. That's why, near the end of our trip, I carved those initials into this bench."

"Ooh, then what does SBG mean?" Steven asked.

Greg laughed embarrassingly, "It was uh, my pet name for her. Sky Blue Goddess."

"Like your song? Wait!" Steven stood up from his seat. " _'Sky Blue Goddess'_ is about Mom?"

"It is," Greg grinned. "I wrote it a few months after I met Blue."

"Wow…" Steven said. "You really loved Mom, huh?"

"I did."

"So you must miss her a lot too…"

Greg hesitated a moment, before smiling at Steven. "I do," he admitted. "But we enjoyed our time together and I have you now, Steven. And that's exactly what we both wanted."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely!" Greg responded. "I want nothing more in the world now than you to grow up happy and healthy, Steven."

"Yeah. I know, Dad," Steven said, getting back into his seat. He looked down sadly down at his pizza crust.

Still smiling, Greg reached over and put his arm around Steven, pulling him close. "Hey, why don't we go check out the Statue of Freedom next? We can take the ferry to Wellis Island."

Steven smiled, rubbing the corners of his eyes. "Alright, Dad. Let's go."

* * *

Pearl— much like any Pearl— valued her free time.

It was a rare commodity, and even now, Pearl found it in short supply. Raising Steven was a full time position, between teaching him, preparing his lessons, cooking, washing his clothes, tidying after him, and providing entertainment. They were enjoyable duties, to be sure, but duties nonetheless. And even in those hours that Steven slept, Pearl was always hard at work on the drill…

But this was a 'vacation'. A time which meant cessation of work, even for Pearl.

And she was thoroughly enjoying it. She started with a shower, having rather forgotten how nice the sensation was. The baths she ran for Steven using heated water from mountain streams was _nothing_ compared to the steaming jets that coursed over Pearl's form then, washing away the grime and dirt, soaking into her hair and clothing. She relished the chance to use all the little bottles of cleaning supplies the hotel provided— shampoo and conditioner and body wash, all interesting scents like 'jasmine' and 'citrus' and 'ocean breeze'. The sensation of producing the lather, and truly working it into her hair was like nothing else. And afterwards, she delighted in drying off with a soft, warm towel. Then she could sit on the edge of the bath, blow drying her hair and working some lotion into her skin.

When she was done, she practically felt like a different Gem.

She even looked like a different Gem, Pearl realized, as she considered her reflection in the bathroom mirror. With that white, fluffy bathrobe wrapped around her, and her bangs pulled to either side, showing her eyes… it almost felt like a stranger was staring back at her.

 _Mirrors are quite useful_ , Pearl thought, gaze flickering to the hand-held one which was lying face down next to the sink. _Not strictly necessary, but nice to have around._ She'd given the device a thorough lookover before indulging herself, and it really had seemed quite safe. It would be a shame to hide it away for no reason.

"I suppose I'll give it to Steven after all," Pearl said aloud, and it felt a little strange, speaking even though no one could hear.

Next, she put on a cup of coffee. It was a flavor she had absolutely relished ever since Greg had first introduced her, but she rarely indulged in it, since it wasn't something which Steven's child physiology could process safely. Then she turned on the TV and sat down on one of the room's beds to watch. She began in quite a neat and proper sitting position, but as she scrolled through the channels she began to experiment a little, eventually even allowing herself to sprawl out on her belly, the way Steven did sometimes when he was drawing. It was quite nice, but a little awkward, so after a while she sat back up, if only to make drinking easier.

Human television was strange. There were nature documentaries, ridiculous movies about people fighting, a very strange 'animated' show about emotional foods, a good twenty channels dedicated to various sports, as well as three entirely about cooking, and one about which claimed to be about history that wasn't accurate at all. (The presenter seemed to believe that a race of fish people had built the Communications Hub, which was just ludicrous). Pearl was about to settle on some news networks— she figured it was wise to keep up to date on the planet's politics— but then she got sidetracked by the 'Fashion Channel'.

Beautiful humans, many of whom looked rather like Pearls, moving gracefully and powerfully down aisles, dressed in all manner of skirts and capes and hats and _suits_ —

Just for a few minutes, Pearl thought.

Next thing she knew, the door burst open, Steven crying, "WE'RE BACK!"

Pearl jumped. Nearly three hours had passed.

She was mortified, having been caught lounging, but neither Greg nor Steven seemed to notice. Greg fell into a chair with a groan, while Steven excitedly reported everything they'd done."—and then we got these cheesecakes, and we visited a dog park, and we took pictures in front of this cool statue, and we went to the very top of this building and got to see the whole city, and ooh, there was a gift shop there, and we got this for you—"

"We figured you deserved a present too," Greg said with a chuckle.

Steven dug into a bag he was carrying, and held something out to Pearl in his palm. She stared at it for a moment, then took it. It was a bracelet. Made out of some sort of plastic, with little blue and purple beads. Most of them were plain, but four of them together spelled ' _I 3 EC_ '.

"Do you like it?" Steven asked, eyes huge.

Pearl took the gift— the gift, an actual gift, intended for _her_ — and slipped it onto her wrist. "I love it."

Yes, she knew it was just a trinket— a little thing, probably very cheap, and if she was being honest, not the most attractive of jewelry... 'tacky', she believed the term was— but that didn't matter. The two of them had gone out, thought of her, and bought something just so she could have it.

She would never, ever get used to that.

"Yay!" Steven said, and he was already buzzing off to go to the toilet. But Greg was still sitting in the chair, watching. He looked between Pearl, sitting on the bed, still wrapped in the bathrobe, to the television, now muted, but still showing all those lovely outfits...

"Hey, Pearl," he said. "Do you want to get some clothes?"

She blinked at him.

"Pearl?" he prompted, when she didn't answer.

"That is hardly necessary," she said. "You already purchased me that lovely dress. That's more than enough."

"One dress is not 'more than enough'," said Greg. "It's nice to have some choices. Like jeans, or a sweater, or something." He gave the television a meaningful look, waggling his eyebrows. "Or maybe a suit…?"

Pearl's eyes were drawn back to the television screen. Some human was there, their mouth moving soundlessly, as they described the outfit hanging next to them: beautiful red fabric, cut in the sharp, angular shapes of a warrior's uniform, but with all the delicacy of Court attire—

She managed to shake her head. "Hardly necessary," she repeated. "If I want some choices, I can simply shapeshift myself a new outfit."

"But shapeshifting is really tiring," Steven said, emerging from the bathroom, shaking some of the water off his still-moist hands.

Pearl bowed her head, conceding the point. Steven knew first hand, after the incident where he'd attempted to shapeshift to a Diamond's full size, and ended up bedridden for nearly a full five days as a result. Pearl was far more practiced, of course, but she wouldn't pretend it didn't take a fair bit of energy to sustain.

"If I want to make it permanent, I could simply reform," Pearl suggested instead.

Steven frowned at that, and Greg practically jumped out of his chair. "Now _that's_ extreme," he said. "You shouldn't have to— to destroy your body every time you want to try on a new look. You deserve to be comfortable, Pearl."

Comfortable. A Pearl's job wasn't to be comfortable. It was to be beautiful.

New clothes _would_ help her with that, though.

She couldn't help the small smile that stole onto her face. She said, "Very well, then."

"Great," said Greg. "Let us just get cleaned up a bit, then we'll go down to the concierge and ask them if there's any good tailors nearby."

* * *

It was their last night in Empire City, and the Universe family intended to go out with a bang.

After a long day of touring on Steven and Dad's part, all of them went out for dinner at a really swanky restaurant, even Pearl. They got real dressed up for it. Honestly, the formal jacket and pants felt uncomfortably stiff, and the bowtie around his neck was an awkward pressure. At first, Steven couldn't help but complain about it. Dad had pulled on his own suit, and told Steven to think of it like a costume.

"Like you're going on stage," he'd said. "Like you're giving them a _show_."

So Steven had imagined that— rocking out in front of a crowd with Dad, or going down the red carpet, or strutting through a Homeworld Court— and suddenly the formal clothes had been a lot more fun.

It was _nothing_ compared to Pearl, though. For all her quiet protestations, her excitement had been clear the moment she'd stepped into the clothes store. She'd spent a long time looking at all the fabrics, stroking them, holding them up against her body. When she'd been fitted, the tailor had said she was the best customer he'd ever had, holding herself so perfectly still.

Steven had thought she'd get something in blue, or maybe purple or green. So had Dad. It had surprised them all when she'd chosen a different fabric entirely. The orange suit and red tie stood out vibrantly against her hair and skin. It was kinda weird, but kinda nice, Steven thought.

"Well, it sure is _different_ ," Dad had said.

"Yes," Pearl had answered, voice very soft. "It certainly is."

(Steven thought he kept catching her looking at her reflection in the spoon.)

As they ate— delicious soups and salads and pastas— they shared with Pearl everything they'd seen that day, and she'd nodded along and added her quiet opinion. After they ordered dessert, Dad asked what Steven's favourite part of the trip had been.

"Dunno. It was all cool," he answered honestly. All the people wearing costumes in Times Circle had been really awesome, but he'd loved the art museum. Or, one of them, anyway. Some of the exhibits in the Modern Art Museum had been interesting, but a lot of them had just been _weird_ , and he thought he preferred traditional painting and statues.

"Speaking of statues," Dad had asked, "how about Femme Freedom?"

The Statue of Freedom had been really great, too— but honestly, it had been kind of busy, and maybe not worth all of the fuss, in Steven's opinion. Dad said Mom had called it 'quaint' when she'd visited, and he could get why. They probably had statues four times as big in space. He admitted, "I liked Wellis Island more."

It had been really interesting, learning about immigration and the thousands of thousands of people who'd come to Empire City for a new life. Some of the Visions Steven had gotten had been kind of overwhelming— so many people, the smell of sweat and dust, shoe polish and medicine, worried, anxious faces, children crying. But it had been more than worth it to get Dad's story about his trip there with Mom. Blue Diamond had loved all the tales about people coming to seek a new life, a new home. Just like her.

They finished eating and paid for the meal. For dessert they'd grabbed ice cream from a street vendor. Then there'd been a musical: _Papes!_ About street kids selling newspapers in the 1920s, and the romance between a streetwise young gal and a budding reporter facing sexism and the disapproval of her father… It had been amazing! Dance numbers, kissing, fight scenes, everything! By the end everyone had been screaming and clapping and whistling, even Pearl!

By the time they'd stumbled out of the theatre, it had been dark and late. Steven had found himself walking slower and slower. Eventually, Pearl had picked him up, fitting him snuggly in her arms. The cloth of the suit had been so, so soft. Her steady gait was soothing, and Dad had been singing one of the show's songs under his breath, like a lullaby…

Steven's last thought before he drifted to sleep was he wished it could be like this— the three of them— always.


	6. Mirror, Mirror

**Chapter Six: Mirror, Mirror**

"Home again!" Steven declared as he threw the Palanquin's curtains aside and tossed his backpack onto his bed. Pearl followed closely behind him, carrying the garment bag over her shoulder and a small suitcase in her other hand.

"Careful," she said, setting the suitcase down on the floor. "You don't want to damage the mirror."

"Oh right." Steven ran over to his backpack and started to dig through it, eventually emerging with the blue hand mirror in his grasp. He looked over it carefully, examining the glass and the gem on back. "It still looks okay. Well, except for the crack."

"That is good," Pearl said. She brought the garment bag to her front, considered it, before continuing, "I'm not sure where I can put this, however."

"You can put it in the wardrobe," Steven said, indicating towards the wardrobe tucked between the dresser and Blue Diamond's throne. "There's lots of room there."

"Ah, I couldn't do that, Steven," Pearl said. "That is your space. I couldn't put anything of mine there."

"It's alright, Pearl. Put the bag in the wardrobe."

She hesitated, before tilting her head at him. "Very well." She stepped lightly over to the wardrobe and opened it. Pearl pushed the hung up clothes back and hung the garment bag from the rack. She closed the doors and looked back at Steven, who was lying on his bed, gazing at the mirror. "It is done, my Steven."

"Great," Steven responded. His eyes were still glued onto the mirror, on his own reflection. Steven had of course seen mirrors before, but there were none around the Palanquin. And while Pearl always made sure Steven was presentable, he never really got a chance to look at himself, save for when they went into town. But now he could, whenever he wanted.

"It seems—" Pearl said laying a hand on Steven's shoulder. He looked up, realizing that Pearl must have been talking to him and he hadn't heard her. "—that it is already after lunch, my Steven. If you have no objections, we will take the rest of the today off and resume your lessons tomorrow."

"Yes, Pearl," Steven said, sitting up on the bed. "I need to show the mirror around anyway."

"The mirror?" Pearl asked. She paused a second before continuing, "Ah. Of course. I would only ask that you please don't stray into town."

"Alright, Pearl," Steven nodded as he hopped off the bed. She looked into the mirror again and smiled at his own face. "So. I guess I need to give you the tour, huh?" He turned the mirror over in his hand and slowly let it reflect the Palanquin. "I live here with Pearl. Here being, a mountainside in Korea." He pointed the mirror at Pearl, who was at Steven's bed unpacking his backpack. "This is Pearl. Since Dad moved away, she's the one who takes care of me most of the time." He waved and Pearl smiled and waved back. "Pearl is really great. You're going to love living at the Palanquin with her— I do!"

"Ah, my Steven, you are too kind." She bowed slightly at him. "I love being here with you, as well."

Steven smiled brighter before turning away and going elsewhere in the Palanquin. He went from place to place, starting with the throne where Steven and Pearl would often snuggle close and read stories with each other. Then he talked about the table where he ate his meals and about some of his favorite food. Next was the study corner, an area covered in pillows with a low table where Steven and Pearl had their lessons most days. And finally, Steven began pointing out the art that hung from the Palanquin's walls. Pictures he had drawn, but also photos. Some of Steven, some of Dad, a few were of Pearl. But others were just of landscapes of places that Steven and Pearl (and sometimes Dad) had gone to.

He had gone over several of the pictures when he suddenly realized that his descriptions had devolved into: ' _And this is when we went to Egypt_ ' or ' _This was our trip to Hawaii'_. He turned the mirror to face him. "Sorry. We've been to a _lot_ of places." He looked over at Pearl, who had finished with his bookbag and had moved to his suitcase. "I'm gonna go show the mirror around the mountainside."

"Very well, my Steven," Pearl replied. "Just, as I said, please do not wander into town."

"I won't," Steven said as he trotted through the curtains and out into crisp mountain air. That would have been a pretty long trip, anyway.

Steven took a moment to consider what to do, before he began walking down the slope into the wooded area. He looked up into the trees and started whistling, trying to get the attention of Nari, or any of her fellows who might be able to tell him where she was. Unfortunately, he wasn't having much luck. Again.

"Sorry about this," he apologized into the mirror. "I mean, I'm pretty sure it's not migrating season yet, but…" He sighed. "Maybe I should look it up on Pearl's Blueberry Pi again… Oh!" Steven remembered. "It's not like, a blueberry pie you eat. It's a small a computer that Pearl can carry with her where she goes."

He stopped next to a tree, the same one he had first met Nari and Tim at. But there was no one else around now. A quick whistle confirmed that. He sighed again. He was pretty sure this was the tree they had met at. Maybe it was further in—

"Steven?"

Steven looked up and around him, trying to find who had called his name. It had kinda sounded like Pearl, but he couldn't see her. And she wasn't the type to try and hide, at least not from him.

A few more moments of trying to see her and finally Steven shrugged to himself. "Maybe I was just imagining it."

"Steven? Steven?"

It was Pearl's voice again, Steven was sure of it. Except… she did sound a little weird. Distorted. Kinda like when Dad video chatted with him and the connection would start to worsen. Like speakers getting muffled. That's what Pearl's voice sounded like right now.

Or the voice that _sounded_ like Pearl's.

Steven had only taken a step forward when the voice started saying his name in a rapid fire fashion. "Steven? Steven? Steven? Steven—"

It was finally then that Steven realized where the voice was coming from. It was coming from right next to him, though lower on the ground.

From his _hand_.

 _Or not precisely_ , he thought. It wasn't his hand that was speaking, it was… the mirror?

Steven raised the mirror to eye level— and nearly dropped it when he saw a Pearl's face looking at him, before swirling away back into Steven's own surprised and confused reflection.

He continued to inspect his increasingly perplexed (and just slightly frightened) expression reflected at him in the mirror. It made no sound, or altered its image. It just… reflected. He looked deeply into the mirror, turning it at various angles, waiting to see if it would speak again.

He didn't have to wait long, as the mirror's reflection swirled and shifted. But this time it didn't show Pearl; it instead showed Dad. "Steven?" Dad's face asked, hanging on the image for a second before again returning to showing Steven's own reflection.

Steven felt his lips tremble. He was unsure what to do, so he did what he usually did when someone he didn't know who was talking to him. He introduced himself.

"Hi. Um, my name is Steven. Though… I guess you know that already." He bit his lip. "Do you have a name?"

His reflection twisted and swirled into… Steven's reflection. Though now it moved and spoke independently of him. "A mirror!" it mimicked.

Steven giggled. "Yeah, I guess that's right. So you can really understand me?"

The mirrored showed Steven's face again, "Yes, Pearl."

Steven's eyes grew in wonder. "Cooool~"

Again, Steven's reflection said, "Flatterer!"

Steven laughed again, first genuinely, then nervously. "I hope I haven't been boring you with my tour." No response from the mirror. Grimacing, he turned the mirror around, the glass facing the wooded area and the cracked gem facing Steven. "I like it here, but I know there's not much to see."

Steven heard his own voice coming from the mirror, "It's so pretty!"

"Yeah! It is!" Steven agreed as he began walking vaguely forward. "I mean, down in town is nice and Empire City was really cool, but I like being up here in the mountain, just me, Pearl, and the animals. You know?"

Pearl's voice responded, "I love being here with you, as well."

"Aww, really?" Steven asked. "Well, even though we just met, I'm glad you do." The mirror didn't respond, so they walked in silence for a while, Steven closely examining the gem on the back of the mirror.

It, like the rest of the mirror, was blue and it was shaped like a drop of water. If it hadn't been for the crack going down the center of the gem, it would have been near flawless. Steven idly wondered if there was any way to fix it.

"You're… not really a mirror, huh?" Steven asked, still looking intently at the gem as he walked. "I mean, _you're_ not a mirror. You're a Gem, right?" There was no answer. "So if you're in the mirror… does that mean that you're trapped?" Again, no answer. "If you're trapped, then… maybe I— or Pearl and I can help you? You know, get out. I'm sure you'd be a better friend as a Gem then as a mir-"

"Steven. Dangerous. Trap."

The words broke Steven's train of thought, and just in time. He found himself at the edge of a steep cliff, a long fall waiting below.

"Woah!" Steven exclaimed, and scrambled backwards, away from the ledge. Once safely away, Steven hurried to his feet and looked the mirror over to make sure it hadn't been damaged. Thankfully, it looked just as it had.

"Wow," Steven breathed. "You saved me. If you hadn't said anything, then I would have stepped right off the cliff!"

"We need to be careful," the mirror said, this time in Dad's voice. Steven turned the mirror around just in time to see Dad's face replaced with Pearl's, again saying, "I love being here with you, as well."

"So… you like being here. With me. And Pearl," Steven said slowly, making sure he had everything down in his head. "Okay. Then… do you want to be free? Because…" He pulled at the gem a little, feeling it it give a little. He remembered Pearl's lessons about Gem physiology, and how it differed from organic biology. "Your gem is the power source. If I pull it free, _you_ should be free… But I don't want to do it if you think it might hurt you…"

Steven heard his father's voice from the mirror, "No, no, it's alright."

Steven smiled a little before nodding. "Okay. Then… I'll do it." He grabbed the gem firmly and began pulling, first a little and then a lot, grunting a bit at the effort. He was doing his best to not pull too hard, in case he accidentally damaged the gem even more. But still, he had to to pull it off the-

Without expecting it, the gem came free with a _pop_!

In an instant, there was a bang as the mirror's glass shattered. Steven flung his hand up to protect his eyes as the freed gem floated up in the the air, glowing brilliant blue.

The gem hovered in front of him, glowing brighter and and brighter until a figure began to form from the light. First the basic shape of a person, then a top and dress, a long ribbon, disheveled hair. The light then receded, revealing the water drop gemstone on the figure's back. She was entirely blue, from her gem, her skin, her dress, her hair.

The Gem fell to the ground, catching herself on her hands and knees. Dropping the now-broken mirror, Steven rushed over to her side, trying to ask if she was alright, to say _something_ , but finding it hard to speak.

The Gem rose unsteadily, slowly, to her feet. "I— You freed me." She faltered, almost falling back down, but Steven caught her. It was now that Steven noticed her eyes. They weren't like his, or Pearl's, or Dad's, or anybody's he'd ever seen They were featureless and reflective. Steven could see his own surprised and uncertain expression reflected back at him.

"You _talked_ to me," the Gem said, a small smile appearing on her lips. She carefully got out of Steven's arms and stood up straight herself. "You saved me…" she breathed softly. Her smile broadened just a little as Steven looked at himself in her eyes. "Thank you, I… My name is Lapis. Lapis Lazuli. And- _thank you_ , Steven. For saving me."

* * *

For so long in Lapis Lazuli's existence there had been… _nothing_.

There had been the dark, stone floor of the galaxy warp below her. Then the Pearl had came, and found her mirror, and there had been a brief glimmer of hope. But the Pearl had put the mirror inside her gem, and it had been nothing but a void of pure white for a seemingly endless amount of time.

At first, Lapis had tried to entertain herself. Painted pictures in her mind, of the places she'd been. Imagined what she'd do once she got out. Sang old songs to herself, and composed new ones. Wondered what was happening throughout the galaxy without her.

But it was hard. It was hard, and it hurt.

Slowly, Lapis let herself slip away. It was easier to drift, thoughtless. To become the inanimate object she was supposed to be.

Then things had started _happening_ again.

The Pearl had brought her out, and all in a rush, Lapis had come back to herself. The Pearl was talking to a Rose Quartz— _the_ Rose Quartz, certainly— who was talking, in turn, to a human. Lapis could have revealed herself then, but it had _hur_ , it hurt to do anything, and anyway, she'd been scared. These were Crystal Gems. Everyone had heard stories about what the Crystal Gems had done, and Lapis had known they were true. It was their fault she'd gotten stuck in the mirror in the first place.

So she'd stayed stubbornly silent.

Rose Quartz had passed the mirror on to the human, who'd passed it to another human, who'd then had to give it up to another Pearl. And Lapis had still stayed silent, still watching, still scared to speak up, still scared that she was going to end up spending yet another eternity in another Pearl's gem.

But… this Pearl was different from the other one. Lapis had recognised her immediately. She was not a rebel. Far from it. She was a familiar face. The sheer blue skirts, the hidden eyes, the diamond insignia, the gem on the breast— this was _Blue Diamond's_ Pearl.

The Pearl had mentioned Blue Diamond by name, which had confirmed it. Lapis had almost revealed herself then, but held back. She still had so many questions. Why was Blue Diamond's Pearl on Earth? Why was she in the company of humans? And what would she do, if she found that the mirror could talk? Lock Lapis away again, or begin interrogating her?

Lapis Lazuli had waited, and she'd been given to Steven.

Steven had not been what Lapis expected of a human. Or of anyone, really. He was friendly, and kind, and he had spoken to her. Not like an object, or a tool, but like a _person_.

And when Lapis talked back, he _rescued_ her.

She was free. Free! She had a _body_. Arms and legs and eyes and a nose and a mouth. She could feel dirt and grass under her toes, feel wind blowing through her hair. It was dizzying, and overwhelming, and Lapis was grateful when Steven helped her stand.

"You're welcome," Steven said, after she'd thanked him. And then, "Um… uh…"

He wasn't sure what to say next, what to do. Lapis felt the same.

For as long as she'd been in the mirror, Lapis Lazuli had wanted nothing more to be free. But now that she had that freedom, she wasn't sure what to do with it. To go home, certainly, but how? She had no wings. She tried and tried to summon them, but all that accomplished was a deep flash of pain which struck right to the core of her being.

So she couldn't go home. Not yet. But she still had questions she needed answered.

"Can you take me to the Pearl?" Lapis asked.

"Pearl?" said Steven. There was a flash of something like worry or guilt on his face, quickly replaced by a bright smile. "Sure! I bet she'll love to meet you!"

Hand in hand, Steven lead her back the way he came. As they walked, Lapis reached out, touching passing trees and rocks and leaves, just because she could, just to savour the texture beneath her fingers. Soon they crested the hill, and came to Blue Diamond's Palanquin.

It was most certainly hers. It was too distinctive to be anything else. But the inside was so… strange. So much… _stuff_ , cluttering up the place.

The Pearl was in the process of actively cleaning and organizing all that stuff. "Welcome back," she said, turning away from a large storage area Lapis had heard them call 'a wardrobe'. "That was rather fas—"

The Pearl froze.

"A Lapis Lazuli," she said. Her mouth opened, then stopped. Her face remained perfectly blank and perfectly motionless for several long seconds. "The mirror."

Lapis clenched her fists, and nodded.

"She was stuck in there, Pearl!" said Steven. "And she started talking to me, and she was really nice, and she saved me, and she let me out! I mean, I let her out!"

Blue Diamond's Pearl took a small step towards them. Lapis could not see her eyes, but she could _feel_ them on her. "Gems used to power objects should not be conscious. The process erases their sentience."

Lapis shrugged, feeling her teeth grind together. "Well. Guess I was the exception. Lucky me."

There was a taut silence in which nobody moved.

It occurred to Lapis that she wasn't following any of the proper rules of Court etiquette. It was just— just so hard to focus, she felt like there were fissures running through her mind, making it difficult to remember the right things to say. She managed to bow her head, and said, "I apologize for the intrusion. I come seeking an audience with Blue Diamond."

Another silence, shorter this time. Finally the Pearl answered, voice cool, "She is not here."

Ah. That was— strange, wasn't it? Blue Diamond wasn't one to go without her personal Pearl.

Lapis shook her head. Didn't matter. "Can you tell me where she is?"

"No."

"I see," Lapis said.

She wanted very, _very_ much, to yell at the Pearl, to demand she tell her where Blue Diamond was. She had not waited stars-knew-how-long to be preventing from finding her home, her Court, and her Diamond. It took all her self-control not to lash out. The Pearl was probably just… following orders.

So Lapis would have to go find Blue Diamond herself. Go back to Homeworld. She didn't have wings… but she could find water. This was Earth. The planet had a lot of it. She could stretch it and stretch it— make it to space—

Lapis turned on her heels, and said, "Fine. Then I'll look elsewhere."

"Wait!" cried Steven, grabbing her by the hand. It was enough to make Lapis stop, if only to thank him again, but then… "You won't be able to find her!"

" _Steven_ ," said Pearl, a warning.

"Why not?" said Lapis.

"Because _I'm_ Blue Diamond!"

" _What_?"

Lapis stared. Stared at the human child. Because that's obviously what he was. He was tiny, and soft, and warm, and nothing like the regal, dominating Blue Diamond.

The Pearl stepped in between Lapis and Steven, and there was something strange in her demeano, something never seen in a Pearl, something fierce, something _protective_.

It was enough to make Lapis begin to reconsider things.

"Are you… are you really Blue Diamond?" she asked Steven.

"Don't answer—" said Pearl.

Steven had opened his mouth, but was now biting his lip. But the way Pearl was acting, that was almost enough. And when Lapis focused her attention on Steven's chest— there, just poking out above the hem of Steven's shirt, a tip of a blue triangle…

And she could _feel_ it. Just barely. It was muted, and strange, distorted through her cracked gem, but Lapis could hear Blue Diamond's Song, thrumming and clear and powerful, now following a strange new beat. _Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump_.

It was coming from Steven.

Lapis raised her hands in the Diamond salute.

Awkwardly, stumbling a bit, Steven responded in kind. Then he stopped. "Uh… wait, I'm not the one who's meant to do that, am I…?"

Pearl sighed. Lapis couldn't help but giggle a little.

She stifled that laughter immediately. You didn't _laugh_ at a Diamond.

But Blue Diamond— or Steven?— just smiled at her. A genuine, warm smile.

"I'm— I'm sorry," Lapis said. "I'm… confused."

"That's okay," said Steven.

Pearl stood up straighter, holding up her head in a very un-pearl like fashion. "Do you still intend to leave, Lapis Lazuli?"

"I… intend to serve my Court."

"Your Court," repeated Pearl. "And your Diamond."

"Yes."

The Pearl's voice was soft, but piercing. "And is your loyalty absolute?"

Lapis did not hesitate. "Yes."

Pearl flashed the ghost of a smile, laying one hand on Steven's shoulder. "Then you may stay. And we will explain everything."


	7. New Friends

**Chapter Seven: New Friends**

"So… You just put it in your mouth, chew and swallow?"

Steven nodded as he put another spoonful of cereal into his mouth. "Yep. And that's eating. Do you want to try some?"

Lapis looked at the bowls milky contents before shaking her head. "No, that's alright, my Dia— I mean, Steven. Maybe next time?" she added with a small smile.

"It's okay," Steven said. "Pearl only eats occasionally." He picked the bowl up and drained the remaining milk out of it before setting it back down, only for Pearl to come from behind and pick it and the spoon he had been using and placing them in the basin, already filled with soapy water.

"My Steven," Pearl said as she began washing the bowl, "perhaps you can prepare the first lesson's textbook?"

"Oh, sure Pearl," Steven said leaping from his seat. He trotted over to the stack of books that sat next to bed. He ran a finger down the spines of the books, stopping at the one second from the bottom. He lifted all the thick, hardbound textbooks off the geography book he needed. He grabbed it, and let the others drop back down with a dull thud. Book tucked under his arm, Steven walked back to the table, where Lapis still sat. "Are you ready, Pearl?"

Pearl grabbed the nearby hand towel and dried her hands, before turning and nodding at him. "I am. Shall we, my Steven?"

He nodded back at her and the two began to walk over to the study area, before Steven stopped and said to Lapis, "You coming?"

"Coming?" Lapis asked. "Are we going somewhere?"

"Just to the study area," Steven answered. "It's time for today's lessons."

"Oh. I… didn't know Diamonds needed lessons."

"Steven does not share the mind or memories of our Diamond, Lapis Lazuli," Pearl explained, a slight curt edge to her voice. "That is why he is Steven, rather than Blue Diamond."

"Ah. Okay, then," Lapis responded, sounding rather unsure of herself.

Steven reassured her, "It's okay, Lapis. This is all new to you. You'll get the hang of it. And we'll help you. Right, Pearl?"

"Of course," Pearl answered simply. "Lapis Lazuli is a member of your Court, my Steven."

"Right! So— Oh! Pearl!" Steven turned excitedly to her. "We should let Lapis have lessons with me!"

"Oh, well, I'm not sure if—"

"But Pearl!" Steven protested, not even letting Pearl finish her response. "Lapis doesn't know _anything_ about the Earth. And if she's going to live here, then she needs to know about it. Right?"

Pearl opened her mouth, only to close it and bow. "Very well, my Steven. Lapis Lazuli." She turned and looked at Lapis. "If you wish to join us, you may." Without another word, Pearl turned heel and walked towards the study area, Steven following after her.

"Um, okay," Lapis responded, quickly getting up from her seat and following the two. "Is there really that much to know?"

"Humans make everything more complicated," Pearl answered. "And there are _a lot_ of humans on this planet."

Steven, Pearl, and Lapis arrived at the study area, a corner of the Palanquin that featured pillows and a low standing desk covered in various folders and loose sheets of paper. Steven took a seat on one side of the table, Pearl crouching down across from him. Lapis hesitated a moment, then sat next to Steven and asked, "Is that what we're learning about today? Humans?"

"Kind of," Steven answered, laying the textbook on the table and opening it to the bookmarked page. "We're learning about Manila."

"What's a 'Manila'?"

"A city in the Philippines," Steven answered.

"And a 'Philippines' is…?"

"A country," Steven answered again.

"Oh. Right," Lapis nodded. "And what's a country?"

"A way humans divide themselves," Pearl said. "Somewhat like the Diamonds and their Courts. Only, there are many more countries than just three."

"One hundred and ninety-four!" recited Steven from memory.

"That seems… very convoluted."

"It is," Pearl sighed. "No leader on Earth seems to be able to match the luster of one of the Diamonds. As such human history is full of petty bickering and fighting."

"But that's for a history lesson," Steven said. "Geography is about all the neat places there are on Earth. And we're focusing on Manila, in the Philippines." Steven pointed to a drawn picture of a collection of islands in the book.

"Hmm… It seems rather small," Lapis said, considering the picture.

"It is rather on the small side," Pearl agreed. "But there is still a considerable population there. Nearly thirteen million humans. Which is significant for a species confined to a single planet."

"Wow. That's a minor colony," Lapis said. "And all those humans live on— is it an island?"

"Yep," Steven nodded. "But Manila is just one city. There's way more living on the whole archipelago."

"Hm. Seems like they'd be cramped," Lapis mused. "Though, I think I'd like to live on island. Near all that water. I mean, there's already so much water on this planet but," she smiled playfully at Steven. "Water _is_ kind of my specialty."

Steven, however, was unsure what she meant. "Water's your specialty?"

Lapis blinked her glassy, reflective eyes at him. "Yeah… I'm a Lapis Lazuli. Water is what I do."

"Ah, my Steven," Pearl quickly piped in. "Forgive me. I should have briefed you when it became clear that Lapis was staying." She tilted her head at him and continued, "Lapis Lazulis are part of the terraforming classes of Gems, specifically water."

"Yeah. I can control the stuff," Lapis added. "Make it do basically whatever I want. Though, with my gem like it is, I don't quite have the handle on it I should."

Lapis's brow fell a bit, but Steven didn't notice. Instead, his mind was racing with questions. "Terraforming? What's that?"

"Broadly speaking, it's shaping a planet or part of planet to be a certain way," Pearl answered.

Lapis nodded. "Yeah. For example, I'd go to a planet and do whatever was needed with the water that was on it. Sometimes that meant redistributing it across the surface, sometimes it meant pushing it all to one area, and sometimes it meant getting it all off world completely."

"Oooh~! So you've been to all kinds of different planets?" Steven asked.

"Well, yeah… Why? You haven't?"

Steven shook his head. "No. Well, Pearl once took me to the Moon Base, but other than that, no."

"Oh," Lapis said. "That's too bad. I mean, Earth seems… _nice_ , but it's pretty small. And if Manila is any indication, a bit crowded."

"Yeah…" Steven sighed. "I love Earth. I want to explore every part of it!" He threw his arm towards the map hanging from the wall, where there was a pin marking every single country Steven had ever gone to. So far there was only twenty three: he had a lot of travelling left. "And after I do, I'm going to go to every _other_ planet and star in the universe!"

Lapis giggled at him. "Well, you've certainly got your work cut out for you. _I've_ only ever been to a small number of Gem colonies. Learning about all of them and about every other uninhabited planet and star seems rather daunting."

"But I have it all planned out already," Steven retorted proudly.

"Oh?" Lapis asked, still grinning and raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah! Hold on!" Steven jumped from his seat and ran back over to his bed, getting on his knees and pulling out a rolled piece of laminated paper. He ran back over to the study area and unrolled his prize onto the table.

"It's… a bunch of stars?" Lapis asked, looking at the poster.

"It's all the constellations that can be seen from Earth," Steven explained. "Once I know everything about Earth, then I'll start learning all about 'em." Steven gazed at the map, diamonds in his eyes. "Isn't that right, Pearl?"

"Yes. Of course, my Steven. Now, about the less—"

"Lapis, of all the planets you went to, which one was your very favorite?"

Lapis tapped her chin. "Hmm… Well, there was this one planet that was like five times the size of Earth, and water covered over ninety percent of its surface. But around the equator, when the sun would begin to set, you'd get this amazing coloring effect on the water. All sparkly and rainbow. And when I would lift it up, it would just twinkle in the light…"

As Lapis went on with her story, unbeknownst to Steven and Lapis, Pearl sighed quietly to herself, resigned to the fact that her carefully laid out lesson plan for the day probably wasn't going to happen.

* * *

The seaside air was filled with festive sounds— tinny carnival music, the click-click of rides, the roar of screams from the rollercoaster, the sizzle of frying food, the laughter of children— all against a backdrop of seagull caws and ocean waves. Connie took it all in, eyes wide behind her glasses.

"Funland!" she cried. "Oh man, this is going to be great! I haven't been to an amusement park in _forever_."

"Yeah, and I ain't _ever_ been to one," said Amethyst.

Connie looked at her sidelong. "You haven't? You literally live, like, ten minutes away."

Amethyst shrugged. "I get busy. Besides, _technically_ , I'm not really meant to hang out too much humans."

There was an awkward moment as Connie figured out what she could say to that.

It was broken by Amethyst giving a bark of laughter. "Don't worry!" she said. "You're cool! 'Sides, if Rose is allowed to spend time with Mr. Universe, I should be able to spend time with you, right? Fair's fair."

"I guess…" Connie said, and began to walk into Funland proper.

Only once she was inside to Connie remember why there was a reason it'd been so long since she'd last been to an amusement park— well, besides the business of schools, extracurriculars, and the near-impossibility of getting her parents to take her. _Money_.

Even putting aside food— Connie had been sure to pack a lot of nice, healthy snacks— every attraction had signs displaying the number of tokens needed to ride. And those tokens were expensive. Connie visualized her wallet, filled with weeks and weeks of saved allowances, and did some quick mental math. "I think we'll be able to go on three rides each. Maybe four, if we choose the cheaper ones."

"No way," Amethyst said, digging around in her pants pockets. (Something else Connie had apparently inspired her to 'regenerate' with). She pulled out a brown burlap bags that jangled. "This is on _me_."

"Woah! How much have you _got_ in there?" Connie grabbed a bag from Amethyst's hand and began digging through it…

… only to slow down considerably as she looked at the coins and realized she didn't recognise most of the denominations. A few she could figure out— there was some toonies from the Great White North, and what looked like Euros— but others… well, they looked ancient, for starters, and did— were some of them written in _Greek_? And here were a couple of small blue ones that were definitely from the Aqua Mexican Empire, which, Connie remembered very clearly from last week's history lesson, had fallen 230 years ago.

Connie plucked out a coin which was a particularly bright yellow. It felt soft in her hand. "Is this… _real_ gold?"

"Lemme see." Amethyst took the coin and _licked_ it. "Yep! Not pure though. Some copper mixed in, I think."

Connie could just shake her head.

Thankfully, among Amethyst's hodgepodge of archeological coins, there was still a fistful of actual modern American currency. All totalled, that was enough for both of them to get full ten rides each, plus some deliciously unhealthy carnival food.

"Still don't see why we couldn't use _all_ of my money," Amethyst said, tossing an entire thing of cotton candy (and the stick) in her mouth as she and Connie lined up for the Merry Go Round. Connie did her best to explain, which somehow got into a discussion of eCove, and how Amethyst could probably strike it rich if she tries selling her stuff online.

It was a ridiculous, dizzying, _amazing_ day. Ride after ride— tilt-a-whirl, Space Drop, the Teacups— and more. They ran into a brief snag at the Thunder Bird, where it turned out that Amethyst was gonna be too short to ride, but after waving Connie ahead, she'd reappeared two minutes later in the body of a buff teenager. After that, Connie wanted to learn all about Amethyst's shapeshifting, and they'd gone to the House of Mirrors to _experiment_ with it. Amethyst could make herself tall, or short, or turn herself into an animal, or object, or even a mythical beast—

— she was _amazing_.

"We gotta do this again sometime," Amethyst said, as the sun began to set and announcements about the park's imminent closure.

"Y-yeah," Connie agreed.

"Oh, I know!" Amethyst ripped a nearby poster off a wall as they passed. "We could go to this!"

"Wrestle-Mania?" Connie read, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah!"

Connie bit her lip as she considered the poster She didn't want to sound lame, but… "Isn't that just a bunch of buff dudes screaming at each other and pretending to fight?"

"Yeah!" Amethyst repeated. "It's AWESOME!"

As she spoke, Amethyst clenched her arm, its muscles bulging cartoonishly. Connie couldn't help but giggle. "Okay," she said, but then she looked more closely at the poster. "Ugh, but it starts at eight-thirty on Saturday nights. No way I'll be allowed to go!"

Amethyst blinked at her. "Huh? Whaddya mean?"

"It's late!" Connie exclaimed. "My curfew is like, nine, at the very latest, my parents will want me home…"

Connie had learned that Amethyst had a pretty… patchwork set of things she knew, and got the feeling she'd stumbled into another one of the Gem's information blanks. Amethyst seemed to have realized that too, and took a moment figuring out her next question. "Why? Do ya have… that 'school' thing the next day?"

"No…" said Connie, slowly, as they passed through the gates out of Funland. "I've got tennis practice, but that's not until ten thirty…"

"So… you don't need to wake up really early?"

"No… But I know my Mom still won't like it. But I guess if _you_ asked her, or Rose Quartz did…"

Amethyst looked confused again as she fished something out of a nearby trashcan. "Huh?"

"They _love_ you," Connie explained. "I mean, you _saved my life_ , of course they do. They think you're responsible."

"Heh," Amethyst laughed, through a mouth full of empty-chip bags. " _Responsible_."

Connie laughed too, though in a vague, absent sort of way. Maybe it would work. Her parents had always been… overprotective, yeah, and even more so since the accident. Which was only natural, she thought, feeling a flare of pain from her phantom finger. They didn't like her going anywhere without supervision. But maybe if the invitation came from someone they liked, and respected, or Dad agreed to accompany her… maybe she could go.

Because she _wanted_ to. She really did. Not because she cared about 'The Lock Ness Blogster' beating up the 'Beautiful Builders' or whoever, but because, well—

She caught sight of the Temple in the distance, a massive, magical statue of ancient stone, staring pensively across the water. That was where Amethyst lived. Amethyst was _part_ of that. She was a Crystal Gem, an ancient, shape-shifting, protector of humanity.

And it was only a matter of time before Amethyst realized that Connie Maheswaran was just… Connie Maheswaran.

* * *

The day, just as Pearl had predicted, did not go anything as she had planned. She supposed she couldn't begrudge Steven— he always was so friendly with humans and animals, and this was this first Gem aside from herself that he had ever met in his life. And that meeting had gone far better than Pearl could have ever hoped.

Nonetheless, it was frustrating, how every single lesson got waylaid or distracted to explain something to the Lapis Lazuli, or because the Lapis Lazuli had some story of her own to share, or because Steven had wanted to play a game with the Lapis Lazuli—

Pearl made herself hold still, and let out a long sigh. A habit which Greg had taught her, to let out irritation. It was a surprisingly effective technique.

She was relieved when night began to fall, and bedtime preparations began. This too took longer than usual, but eventually Steven's pajamas were on, his teeth were clean, he was under the covers, and the requested bedtime story read to him.

Steven fluttered his eyelashes up at her and asked, "Can I have a kiss?"

This wasn't a true order. It was a bonding ritual he had partaken in with Greg, and which Pearl had gladly adopted in his absence. "Hmm," she said, tapping her chin. "I don't know…"

"Plllleeeeaaassseeee?"

Pearl smiled. "Very well, then."

She planted her lips gently, carefully, on Steven's forehead. When she straightened up, she noticed Lapis Lazuli's eyes on her, saying nothing. It took all of Pearl's self-control not to blush.

Lapis Lazuli had been informed of 'sleep', and Steven had invited her to join him. Lapis had told him "another time, maybe," instead electing to explore the area surrounding the Palanquin. Pearl was more than happy to let her go, though not without warning her to be wary if she found any humans.

For a while, it was just her and Steven, in the Palanquin, as it had been for so long. The distant sound of organic wildlife… Steven's breathing, slow and steady, getting ever slower…

When at last it transformed into a proper snore, Pearl silently got to her feet, grabbed her compact, Blueberry Pi computer, and slid out past the Palanquin's curtains.

She tread lightly across the grass, through the trees, along the cliff edge, making not a sound as she walked. Soon she came to the grove of bushes, and was pushing them aside to—

"Where're you going?"

Pearl nearly jumped at the Lazuli's voice. "Nowhere?"

Lapis Lazuli stepped out from behind a nearby tree, her eyes reflecting strangely in the moonlight. "Then why are you going to a warp pad?" Lapis Lazuli came a little closer, and repeated again, "So where're you going?"

She'd been caught out in the lie, but Pearls had their own ways of dealing with such situations. She clasped her hands to her chest and said demurely, "I am afraid you are not authorized for that information."

"Really," said Lapis Lazuli, voice dry.

Pearl simply bowed her head.

" _Well_ then," said Lapis Lazuli, turning away, "I suppose I'll just have to ask our Diamond for authorization."

"N-no! Do not tell Steven!"

Lapis Lazuli turned slowly back. "Wait… even _he_ doesn't know what you're doing?"

Pearl stayed very, very still.

"Okay. He definitely needs to know what's going on." Lapis Lazuli started off again, quicker this time.

"Wait!" Pearl cried, loud as she dared. Again, Lapis stopped, and the expression she turned on Pearl was scrutinizing. "Please… If you promise not to tell Steven… then I will show my task."

"I won't promise to keep a secret that might harm my Diamond."

"It won't."

"Fine," Lapis Lazuli said, after a long moment. "Show me."

The two went through the bushes, and stood in rigid silence on the warp pad as it carried them away. When the blue stream died, they found themselves in a place filled with harsh yellow light. An orange canyon, pock-marked with irregular holes, stretching up above them, the sun still high and hot in the sky.

"A kindergarten?" said Lapis Lazuli.

Pearl didn't bother answering such an obvious question.

Instead Pearl led her wordlessly off the warp pad, around the bend, to where the her construction project lay.

It didn't look like much. For the most part, it was a blue roaming eye, or the remains of one. Huge chunks of its carapace had been removed. Around it was strewn all sort of detritus and debris; piles of human engineering texts, partially-disassembled Injectors, all manner of tools, from wrenches, hammers, screwdrivers, blow torches…

"What are you building?" asked Lapis Lazuli, picking up a piece of scrap metal and staring at it.

Pearl went to the nearest Injector, which she was working on removing its head as carefully as possible. "A drill."

" _A what_?"

Pearl bent down, carefully connecting her Pi to a nearby monitor and keyboard. She considered grabbing the fine pair of scissors needed for the carefully work of cutting the Injector's wiring, but instead, went for a laser knife. Depending on how the Lazuli reacted, it may be needed. She said, "You were imprisoned during the middle of the War, weren't you?"

"I guess."

"You would not have been aware of the political climate near the end," Pearl said. She inspected the wiring as she spoke. "The Crystal Gem rebellion gained more and more ground. More and more momentum. It soon became clear that they would take the planet. The Diamonds were willing to accept the loss of a single colony, even one bountiful as Earth, but they could not risk the rebel movement spreading."

Pearl felt Lapis move a little closer. "Okay…"

"The rebels' greatest weapon were their hybrid fusions. So Homeworld decided to build one of their own, greater than any other."

"'Build'?"

Pearl nodded. "They took the shards of every fallen Gem they could find, and placed them deep within the planet's mantle. There the heat and pressure is fusing them into a single being."

"That's…" Lapis trailed off. Finally, Pearl looked at her. Her expression was mingled disgust and horror.

The feeling was mutual. Pearl knew it wasn't her place to question her superiors, but even at the time, she had thought the plan seemed highly… distasteful. If hybrid fusions were so terrible, stooping to the rebels' level to create one for themselves seemed rather— hypocritical. Perhaps if it had only been traitors, it could have been justified, but loyal Gems' shards too had been used, and…

Well. It wouldn't do to dwell.

Pearl continued in her explanation. "It was estimated that the Cluster fusion would take approximately five thousand years to emerge. That leaves only a matter of time before it forms, destroying this planet." Pearl carefully cut through a pair of wires. "I am building a drill to destroy it first."

Lapis's brow was creased. "And you're doing this… against Blue Diamond's orders?"

"No. I am doing this _on_ them."

Pearl explained further. Blue Diamond had always been reluctant on destroying Pink Diamond's former colony, but when she had decided to stay on Earth and have a child there, she had turned against the idea completely. Before she had… passed, she had entreated Pearl with the duty of decommissioning the Cluster.

Blue Diamond had entreated this duty to a Pearl. A _Pearl!_

A Pearl who had not been made for engineering, or science, or mathematics, and had no training in it besides, who was now supposed to figure out how to build a drill capable of penetrating the planet's crust and destroying the most powerful geoweapon ever engineered.

Pearl's hand gripped the laser knife handle tighter.

"Alright," said Lapis Lazuli, at length. "So… why are you hiding this from Steven?"

"I don't want to scare him."

Pearl sighed, and allowed herself to sit on the dusty ground. It took all her self restraint not to cup her face in her hands.

Lapis Lazuli looked surprised. She hovered, uncertain about what to say. "Well… I don't think you need to worry too much. You're working on this drill thing. And if the planet _is_ destroyed, well, you can just take him to space."

"It's not that _simple_ ," Pearl said. "Yes, I could take him to space… but what then, Lapis Lazuli? This is his home. He adores it. It would break his heart to lose it. And where would we go?"

"Homeworld," said Lapis Lazuli. As if it was obvious.

Because it _was_ obvious. Of course it was. That's what Pearl had assumed. That's why she had taught Steven so much about himself, about his mother, about his Homeworld and a Diamond's duty to it, and its duty to their Diamonds. Why shouldn't she? It was his right, his destiny.

"But he can't go to Homeworld," Pearl said, and she didn't meant to say anything else, but the words just came spilling out, like a dam suddenly bursting. "Not now. Perhaps never. Steven is Blue Diamond's son, but he is _not_ Blue Diamond. I see that now. He is small, and naive, and so _fragile_ , and his body is made of meat. Homeworld… the other Diamonds, they'll say he's defective, and you _know_ what they do to defects!"

Pearl's hand clenched and unclenched around the knife, as she cursed herself for not having realized sooner, for having told Steven about all these things which he could not have.

She rounded on Lapis. "Which is why I don't appreciate you coming in here, and telling him stories about far off stars and planets which he'll never be able to see!"

Lapis Lazuli flinched back.

It occurred to Pearl she was holding up the knife in an almost threatening way. She lowered it.

"Sorry," said Lazuli.

Pearl bowed her head. "You could not have known."

There was a silence.

Eventually, Lapis Lazuli bent down. Grabbed something off the ground. It was a screwdriver. "Guess we'll just need to make sure this Cluster-thing never emerges, huh?"

"We," echoed Pearl.

"Yeah." Lapis smiled a little. "I'll help."

Pearl stared at her. "Do you know anything about mechanics?"

"Nope."

"Me neither." Pearl risked a small grin. "So you shall fit right in."


	8. Spying

It had only been three Earth days since she had been freed, which was a short period no matter how you counted it, but to Lapis, it felt like so much more.

It was almost overwhelming, in fact, the constant barrage of things just _happening_. New things to see and hear all the time, with Lapis actively able to seek them out— and other senses, too. Touch, smell, even taste— which was a new, interesting one. Lapis wasn't entirely convinced the whole 'food' thing, especially the part where you actually swallowed and digested, but she did think flavours were fun. Her favorite so far was 'kkotgae snek', which was a 'chip' that supposedly tasted like 'crab'. Lapis wasn't entirely certain what a crab was, but personally Lapis found the saltiness reminded her of the planet's oceans.

Better, even, than the ability to move and sense things was how she could just… talk. Actually _talk_. Say whatever she wanted to say, how she wanted to say it, not just cobbling other people's words together. To talk, and to have others _listen_.

And they did listen. That was the wonderful thing. Pearl did, and not just in that passive, quiet way expected from a Pearl. Her attention was razor sharp, and it was almost disquieting, how hard it was to tell what she was thinking, with her eyes so hidden and her face so blank. But she responded when you spoke, and asked questions, gave advice— _orders,_ even.

And then there was Steven.

Steven was strange.

He listened too, with a genuine curiosity. But mostly, he talked. About all sorts of things. The subjects he learned in his books, random facts about the Earth, the stories he liked to read, his animal friends, what kinds of pencils worked best for what kind of drawings…

He was very different from the distant, regal figure who had presided over the Blue Court.

Just then, Steven was sprawled out on the grass, his art book in front of him, an array of coloured pencils spread out in front of him as he sketched the landscape before them. He kept chewing on the end of a green pencil idly as he considered his next stroke.

He'd given Lapis a notebook of her own to draw in, "if you want to", and Lapis found she rather did. Problem was, she kept getting distracted. By the tickle of grass on her feet, or wind blowing hair in her face, or the occasional painful _screech_ from the crack, bringing her mind to a halt—

Lapis bit her lip against the pain, and tried to find something to distract herself with until it faded. She caught herself staring up into the sky, where a bird lazily circled. It looked so tiny from here, so far from this planet. Lapis longed to be up there with it, or even further, stretching wings of her own…

Steven let out a chirp, saying something to the bird, and Lapis shook her head. She stared around for something else to focus on. She found a little creature crawling through the grass: tiny, black, with six legs, and two waving sticks at the top of its head.

"What's this?" she asked.

"An ant," Steven said, glancing at it, then returning to his art.

Lapis leaned down to get a closer look. The ant didn't even seem to notice she was there. The difference in scale was just too immense. "Can you communicate with it too?"

"Nope."

"Why not?" asked Lapis.

"Because it can't _talk_ ," said Steven. He selected a brown pencil and began to shade in a tree as he continued, "Least, not any way I can hear. I read that ants use these chemical thingies called pheromones to tell each other where food and stuff is. But birds, and deer, and frogs and stuff? They make _noises_. Understanding them is no different than understanding Gem, or English, or Korean."

But it _was_ different. Lapis had known that Diamonds had translation capabilities that far surpassed other Gems' — but she'd always assumed that was for diplomacy among other _sentient_ species. Not creatures like the deer Steven had introduced her to earlier, which didn't seem to be particularly intelligent.

But then, maybe Lapis was being unfair. Just because something didn't speak in a way that you could hear, didn't mean it wasn't thinking, after all.

Lapis was just about to ask what kind of things the bird was saying, when Pearl's voice came from the Palanquin, interrupting them. "Steven! Your father is calling!"

Immediately Steven sprang to his feet, rushing over, leaving his sketchbook and pencils behind. Lapis considered for a moment, then picked them all up and carried them over. She liked being able to _do_ stuff like that.

By the time she reached the Palanquin, Steven was already sitting at the low table, Pearl kneeling besides them, the two of them facing the monitor that Pearl had connected the Pi to. A voice was coming from the device, and as Lapis came closer, she could see a face to match. It sent a wave of unease rolling over her, one that she fought against. It wasn't like the mirror, Steven had promised, when he'd shown her a TubeTube video yesterday. There wasn't anyone trapped inside. It was just moving pictures, just a recording of someone far, far away.

"Oh! There she is!" Steven waved her over. "Come say hi to my Dad!"

After putting the art supplies down, Lapis came, but kept some distance— and not just because she was still adjusting to the easy physical contact Steven and Pearl exhibited. The human on the screen smiled at her. "Hey! Lapis, right? Steven's been texting me all about you. Nice to meet ya!"

"We've already met," Lapis said. She did not smile back.

"We… have?"

"In a sense, _Mr. Universe_."

The human's brow creased in confusion, and then his eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, right— you were the mirror, so you must've heard Rose talking to me."

"Yes," said Lapis.

"Aw, geez. I'm sorry. That must've sucked for you."

"It did, yes." Which was the understatement of the millennia. But Lapis could see the pity on the man's face, not to mention anxiety on Steven's, plus some sort of wordless judgement from Pearl. There would be no benefit in holding it against this human, who'd had no idea who or what she'd been. "But it's not your fault."

"But now Lapis is out, and everything's great now!" said Steven, eagerly.

Lapis smiled. Not everything. But a lot.

The conversation carried on to lighter subjects. Lapis was content to listen as Steven and Mr. Universe talked about all manner of things, with Pearl occasionally interjecting. She was very talkative for a Pearl, but Lapis found she didn't mind at all. Her comments were always so calm compared to the other two's, and Lapis suspected that she was subtly rephrasing everything she said to make it a little easier for Lapis to grasp. Lapis appreciated that. Everything was confusing enough without having to work out exactly what a 'car wash' was, or why the fact it was closed on 'Sundays' was relevant.

"— so anyway, there's this big boat festival coming in a couple of weeks, so I'm gonna perform at the opening ceremonies," Mr. Universe was saying. (Or perhaps he was 'Greg'— that's what Pearl called him.)

"Aww, I wanna come," said Steven.

"I know, stchoo-ball, but it's just too dangerous," said Greg. "Big event like that? Way too many people."

"And Crystal Gems," said Steven with a sigh. "I know. Still wanna come. I miss you."

"Miss you too, son."

"We'll arrange another visit as soon as we can, my Steven," said Pearl, squeezing his shoulder.

Steven grinned. "And when we do, we can bring Lapis! You'd love it," he said, beaming at her. "You were saying how much you wanted to see the ocean, and this is right by the beach— maybe we could go swimming—"

"Sounds wonder-"

Pain sliced through her core, cutting Lapis off-mid word with a wince.

Immediately Steven's face filled with anxiety. "Lapis? What's wrong?"

"I— my _gem_ —" Lapis said. She waved him away. "It's okay, it's fine, it just— _hurts_ sometimes—"

"That doesn't sound 'fine'!" Steven said, his voice shot through with alarm.

Lapis could _feel_ Pearl behind her, head bent close to her back— close, but not quite touching. "It does not appear to be getting any worse," she said. "But the damage is quite… severe. I am impressed by how well you function despite it."

"The damage is _severe_?" Steven echoed, looking almost scared now.

Lapis ground her teeth. "I'm _fine_."

She was. She could handle this. She was one of the finest Lazulis ever produced. Perfectly shaped, no pyrite impurities at all, able to move an entire planet's water supply all by herself. She had dealt with that crack for thousands of years, and she could deal with it for thousands more—

"You're hurt," Greg was saying. "Is there anyway to help?"

"No," said Lapis. Once a gem was damaged, that was it.

"None? Because Rose Quartz can heal— there must be somebody else who could—"

Pearl, who was always rather still, froze completely.

"Rose Quartz can heal," Pearl repeated. "You're correct, Greg. Rose Quartz can heal."

Lapis unclenched her fist. The pain was fading now; she could better focus on what was going on. That had been a rumour, hadn't it? That Rose Quartz's healing powers were the only reason she could keep her small mess of an army alive against Homeworld's superior forces—

— was the rumour true?

"—I saw her heal this kid, little girl, she was almost dead, but when Rose was done, she was practically good as new— Do you think it would work on a Gem, too?"

"I think it would, yes," said Pearl. "I am almost certain, in fact."

Lapis could feel something like hope bubbling up inside her— and popped it before it could get out of hand. "So what?" she said. "It's not like I can just go up to the _Crystal Gems_ and be like, 'hi there, will you please heal me?"

"They'd attack you on sight," Steven agreed.

On screen, Greg was rubbing his hairy chin. "Rose… she mentioned once that she has this fountain, filled with healing tears."

"Really?" Steven asked. His dad nodded. Steven stood up suddenly, throwing his shoulders back, and for a moment, Lapis could see the Blue Diamond in him. "Then we'll find that fountain and we'll get Lapis healed!"

The confidence in Steven's voice was so genuine, so certain that Lapis Lazuli allowed hope bubble up in her, after all.

* * *

Mr. Universe was up to something. Pearl was sure of it.

She'd never liked the human, and made no secret of the fact. Oh, there was nothing _wrong_ about him, nothing obviously bad, but nothing about him stuck out as particularly impressive, either. That was what frustrated Pearl the most. She couldn't see what made Rose gravitate towards him. Round and hairy, he didn't seem very attractive, even by male human standards. His humor was strange and baffling. He acted so nervous and jumpy all the time. Whenever he _did_ talk about himself, there was an impersonal quality to the stories he told, like he was keeping out huge chunks of detail.

He was successful, Pearl supposed, but then, the same could be said for a great many humans. And she could admit some of his music was… catchy, but surely, no great works of art when compared to pieces composed by the likes of Jin Hao or Sapphos?

( _Now_ ** _she_ **_was a human worthy of respect_ , Pearl thought, allowing herself a brief pang of nostalgia she she remembered that visit to Greece. When would that have been, two thousand years ago? Three?)

Pearl mentally shook herself, and refocused on the present. Here and now, she needed to keep herself on Greg Universe, who was currently trekking up the hilly landscape below.

He paused, stopping to take a swig of water and looking around. On the rocky ledge above, Pearl pressed herself onto the ground, out of sight, and waited. A few moments later, she poked her head back out. The human was continuing in his hike, still completely oblivious to her presence.

 _What is he doing?_

Pearl had gotten very familiar with Mr. Universe's habits. Aside from the occasional out of town trip, he spent all of his time in Beach City, and the bulk of that either at his carwash, his friends' houses, or— Pearl's lips pressed together— at the Temple. He liked to 'hang out', which as far as Pearl could tell, meant eating, drinking, talking about random things, and just generally wasting time.

He'd always been interested the Crystal Gems and their lives. _Very_ interested. He asked all sorts of questions about them; their powers, their intentions, their histories. It had rubbed Pearl the wrong way, but she hadn't been particularly surprised. Humanity was a curious species, and there had always been individuals among them fascinated by Gemkind.

But lately, his interest had gotten… narrower.

Mr. Universe was going away from the main road now, poking in among the bushes and behind rocks. Like he was looking for something. Searching.

Pearl suspected she knew what.

She followed from above, watching as he made his way farther and farther up into the hills, staying close to the road for the most part, but always taking little detours or bringing out a pair of binoculars to scout the land. Pearl followed easily, secure in the knowledge she wouldn't be found. She was a veteran soldier. She had lead hundreds of raids against Homeworld troops, dozens of spy missions, trained almost every new recruit in the rebellion. She was quick; she was silent; she was the essence of stealth—

"Pearl."

She nearly screamed and jumped five feet in the air.

Nearly. She didn't, because she had _control of herself_.

Instead, she whipped around. "G-Garnet," she said, voice low. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Garnet said, stepping closer.

Pearl didn't answer. She just glanced back down into the valley below, to double check Mr. Universe still hadn't noticed her. He hadn't.

Garnet came to watch with her as he continued up the slope. She said, "You're following him."

Pearl didn't deny it.

"Rose wouldn't like that."

"This isn't about Rose!"

"Hmm," said Garnet, and Pearl could feel the doubt radiating off of her.

But it wasn't. It really, really wasn't, even if Rose _was_ being completely illogical and _stubborn_ —

"You _know_ he's acting suspicious," Pearl said aloud, starting up again to follow the human.

"Curiosity isn't a crime," Garnet said, following her. "And of all our abilities, it's logical that healing would be the one he's most interested in—"

"But why now?" said Pearl, in a fierce whisper. "Why start asking about the Fountain _now_? He barely asked anything after that human child was harmed, and then out of the blue, it's all he talks about!"

It was an exaggeration, but not much one. When the girl— what was her name? Canny? Conny?— had been injured, Mr. Universe had had a few questions about the healing performed on her, mostly for the sake of reassuring her parents that it was safe. Once that had been sorted out, things had carried on as normal. But then, against Pearl's judgement, Rose had given Greg a gem-powered mirror. Non-functional, but still: not the type of trinket to just give away to humans willy nilly. And the the human had disappeared for some time, and not long after reappearing, the questions had started.

 _Can all Gems heal? No? Why not? Are there limits? You mentioned you have a fountain? Oh, it sounds great, I'd love to see it some day. Where is it, anyway?_

And oh, Rose indulged some of the questions. Others she laughed off, even as they became more pressing, more constant. She treated it all like— like some game, like it was just flirting, like the human wasn't trying to get at their greatest secrets—

That had to be it. That had to be. Mr. Universe had gotten a little taste of Gem kind's powers, and was greedy for more.

Pearl had to briefly let Mr. Universe out of sight, since the slope by the roadside had flattened and the brush here was sparser, making the area more exposed. No matter. She was fairly confident she knew his final destination; she would loop around the long way and settle into a good hiding spot there.

"Pearl," said Garnet, "Greg's interest in the healing Fountain most likely isn't malevolent. Most likely, he's simply ill, or knows someone else who is."

They came to the base an eighty-five degree cliff-face. "Perhaps," Pearl said, as she found her first hand hold and began upwards. "But why not simply tell Rose that? She'd perform the healing. She likes him. Why be so cagey? Why go on secret expeditions to find the Fountains?"

Garnet didn't give an answer, which meant she didn't have one.

Of course, Pearl had brought all this up with Rose, just yesterday. At first, Rose had just giggled. Then Rose had said Pearl was just being overly suspicious. When Pearl had kept pressing, Rose had started getting… irritated. Irritated, than angry. " _Just because you don't like him doesn't mean you can_ ** _slander_ **_him! I won't fall for that, Pearl, and I'm not going to rewrite my entire life for your comfort!_ "

Pearl ground her teeth and hoisted herself up.

The top of this cliff looked down on a circular pool of water below. Rose Quartz made regular visits to the place, but not for the reason Mr. Universe might expect. There was magic here, but not in the form of tears. Rather, it took the shape of a rather disgusting green moss that grew in the still, shaded water. There was quite a lot of it now, Pearl observed, seeing how it covered the majority of the pool's surface, and many of the rocks. No doubt soon Rose would soon carry all of it up to the top of the nearby hill for its springtime blooming.

No sign of Mr. Universe yet. The aging human was probably catching his breath somewhere.

A hand rested on Pearl's shoulder. Pearl turned to look at Garnet. Her mouth was turned down in a small, preoccupied frown.

"I agree that his behaviour has been odd," Garnet said. "But put that aside for a moment. You need to talk with Rose, Pearl."

"I did! You heard how it went!" Because how could Garnet not have? The yelling had reverberated through the entire Temple.

"Not about him," Garnet said. "Pearl, this keeps happening. She finds a human, you get upset—"

"I've _tried_ to stop her," Pearl said, and she could feel burning behind her eyes. "But— but, she does what she wants—"

And of course she did, how could Pearl begrudge Rose that, it was what the rebellion had been about, the chance to do whatever one wanted—

"You need to tell her what you want," said Garnet.

Pearl wanted Rose Quartz to love her. And Rose already did, surely? But there was always the fear— that nagging voice saying she wasn't good enough, she was just a pearl, why would Rose want her? Pearl wanted to be certain, wanted to be her only… But how could she ask that of her, without coming across as cruel, or clingy, or controlling? _And anyway_ , part of Pearl thought, _I shouldn't_ ** _have_ **_to ask for that. After all we've been through, it should just be a given._

She stared at the ground, feeling Garnet's gaze on her but unable to meet it, trying to find the right words to explain all of that—

— when there was a _splash_.

Pearl whipped around. Below, Mr. Universe had arrived, and had climbed over the boulders to the water, poking a hand in experimentally.

His brow furrowed. He took off his backpack, and started rummaging around in it. On the water nearby, there was movement. Like a ripple, or an ungulation— the moss, reaching up for him—

"Mr. Universe!" Garnet cried.

The human jumped, straighted, spun around, saw the Gems on the cliff above him, yelped—

And fell into the water, with a splash and a dull crack. Drawn by the disruption, the moss came faster, quickly beginning to engulf him.

Garnet and Pearl exchanged the briefest of glances. Then the two Crystal Gems jumped down to rescue him.

It wasn't difficult to pull him out of the water, though it was considerably harder to remove the moss from his body. It regenerated quickly, and it required the Gems' full speed to remove it before it could regrow, plus the occasional electric shock from Garnet to stun it—

Finally, Mr. Universe lay dripping on the shore, heaving for breath, but no longer in threat danger of being immediately suffocated. Pearl wondered if perhaps they should have left him, but it was an idle thought with no real intention behind it.

"Foolish," she said, turning away from him.

"Y-yeah. I— sorry. You startled me," he said. "T-thanks."

"You're hurt," Garnet said.

Pearl looked, and saw that Garnet was correct. She hadn't noticed, because there was no blood, the usual marker of human injury, but his leg was bent at a very odd angle. Probably quite painful, judging from the expression on his face.

Mr. Universe touched it gingerly, then winced. "I think I broke it on the rocks. Oh, geez, how am I gonna get back…?"

Pearl sighed. However tempting it may have been, they couldn't just leave him there. "We'll carry you back," she said, then looked at Garnet. "Where's Rose?"

"The Fountain," she answered, after a moment.

"Of _course_ ," said Pearl. For all that Mr. Universe had gone searching in completely the wrong location, it seemed that in the end, he was still going to find what he was looking for. But then, maybe it'd be for the best. If he really did have some human disease, then perhaps once he was healed he would get out of their hair.

Garnet bent down, and picked the human up in her arms. He looked like an overgrown infant. He managed a watery smile.

"Uh, thanks," he said again.

Garnet nodded.

Pearl simply said, "Come on. Let's go."

* * *

"Uh, can you like, carry more gently?"

Garnet tightened the corners of her mouth before simply stating, "You could be hopping behind me."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," Greg laughed nervously, unsure if the Gem was joking or not.

Luckily for Greg and his uncomfortably placed leg, after the trek all the way back to the Temple, they didn't have to walk far from the warp pad to get to the Fountain. Just down a path through a rose garden, ('O _f course there are roses"_ , Greg thought to himself) and soon they came to a what looked like an elegant brick wall with an archway in it. The stone was pink, because of course it was.

"The Fountain is through here," Pearl informed as she walked perfectly next to Garnet and Greg, her eyes occasionally darting from in front of her over to helpless Greg in Garnet's arms.

Even with a leg broken, this Pearl still didn't like him.

Once through the archway, Greg saw the Fountain and, as promised by Garnet, Rose was there, sitting on the edge of the Fountain proper, staring down at something within.

She noticed the sound of them before they got too close, and looked up For a split second, she looked— upset, or frustrated maybe, or _sad_ , her face crumpled, eyes red, her fists clenched—

And in an instant it cleared, and like the sun coming out from behind dark clouds, was replaced with a look first of delight, and then concern.

 _What was that about?_ Greg wondered.

"Mr. Universe! Oh, stars! Are you okay?" Rose quickly rose from her seat and rushed over to them.

"He fell," Pearl stated simply.

Rose's brow dropped. "And is that all?"

"And he may have broken something," Garnet added. "If the snapping sound was any indication."

"There wasn't a snapping sound," Greg protested. "Just… Maybe a bit of a cracking sound…"

Rose bent down and examined his hurt leg, looking it over and finally gently prodded it. Greg winced, doing his best not to yelp in pain.

"Hmm..." Rose murmured. "I do think it might be broken, Mr. Universe."

"Great," Greg groaned, trying to act natural. He was at the Fountain. He'd hoped that he could find the place by himself, fill a water bottle with the healing tears and leave with it with no one the wiser, but there was no way that was going to happen. Too many people around, too many eyes watching.

Now he just needed to know _where_ exactly he was. "I don't suppose you could do something about it Rose? Like you did for that girl Amethyst saved?"

"I'm quite certain, Rose answered, smile playing at her lips. "In fact, we can use the Fountain."

"The healing fountain," Greg said, playing dumb. "You mean _this_ is the fountain?"

There wasn't any mistaking it. The centerpiece was a life sized statue of Rose Quartz carved out of shimmering pink rock, tears endlessly flowing from the stone figure's eyes into the basin below. It was more than a little self-aggrandizing, in Greg opinion. Blue had never felt the urge to erect statues to herself around the place.

(Well, maybe she had, back at home, but then, she _was_ a space queen.)

Rose grinned sheepishly at him. "Sorry," she said. "I forget that you're not as informed as the rest of us."

Greg heard Pearl huff behind him. Not for the first time, he wondered what had happened to her to make her so _rude_.

"But yes. This is the Fountain," Rose went on. "You remember that it was my tears that healed the young girl, yes? Here, Garnet. Sit him on the edge here, so he can put his leg in. Not immediately. We need to ensure it sets correctly."

Garnet did so, Greg wincing again as his leg bent into a sitting position. "Yeah, I remember that," he said, trying not to make it sound like he was in pain.

Rose must have taken note regardless. "Pearl. Can you help keep his leg straight?"

For a moment it looked like Pearl was going to protest, but she instead silently knelt to her knees and jerked Greg's leg straight, her grip perhaps a mite tighter than it needed to be.

"Thank you, Pearl," Rose smiled. She turned around and was leaning into the Fountain.

Greg looked behind him into the Fountain to see what she was doing and saw... something in a pink bubble, partly submerged in the water. "What's that?" He pointed at the bubbled object.

"Ah, that's just... a project."

"Rose." It was Garnet. Greg turned his gaze to her and she had folded her arms across her chest. "You're still at it."

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

Garnet didn't answer. Instead, she pursed her lips and tilted her head. As if she were trying to tell Rose something without actually telling her.

 _They don't want to talk about whatever it is while I'm around,_ Greg thought to himself. Suspicious.

But luckily for Greg, Rose either didn't notice or just ignored Garnet's attempt. "I told you, both of you, before. I'm not stopping until I have... a way to help them."

"We know, Rose," Garnet said simply.

There was a beat of silence before Greg chimed in, "Who are you helping exactly? Is someone else hurt who needs the Fountain?"

Rose smiled softly at him. It was a bittersweet expression. "In a way."

"Who is it?"

As he asked that, the other Pearl jerked his leg suddenly and he cried out in pain. "Sorry. Slipped," she offered, both points clearly not true.

"Just... some old friends," Rose said. She reached into the fountain and pushed the bubble to the other side of the Fountain. "It's nothing you should concern yourself with, Mr. Universe."

"Nothing I can do to... I dunno, help or something?"

Rose giggled. "You're sweet," she said laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. "But this really isn't something you should worry yourself over, Mr. Universe. Just Gem business."

"Not that he could do much anyway..." Pearl muttered under her breath.

Greg wasn't sure how much he bought this story. Sure, he wanted to believe that these Gems were helping someone… but they'd started a war. They'd killed Pink Diamond. They'd kept Lapis Lazuli prisoner for thousands of years. Traded her away like a trinket. And if they really _had_ turned over a new leaf, and were trying to heal someone or other, they wouldn't have have to keep it some big mystery.

Rose gave Pearl an aside look, but didn't respond. Instead she sat down next to Greg. "Healing your leg should be a simple task. You're not nearly as hurt as the young girl was, you should be able to keep you leg."

"Well _that's_ a relief," Greg replied. "I'm pretty fond of this leg."

Rose giggled again. "I can imagine. After all, you can't simply regenerate a new one." She grew quiet as she tapped the corner of her mouth. "Hmm... I was going to have you dip your whole leg into the Fountain but..."

"But what?"

"It would probably be best if your leg is kept straight like that while it heals. So that it sets properly."

"Yes," Garnet cut in. "We wouldn't want another incident like with that Greek soldier and his ankle."

"My, he did _not_ appreciate our help, did he?" Rose asked as she leaned into the Fountain and cupped her hands. "Certainty not like you, Mr. Universe." She rose from the Fountain, water sitting in her cupped hands. "You're so kind and sweet. And charming." She grinned at him, in a way that made her intentions completely clear. And made Greg _very_ uncomfortable. And guilty.

 _Blue, I'm sorry. Please forgive me for this,_ Greg thought _._

He put his most charming smile on. "Well, you're pretty sweet yourself."

Rose chuckled as she held her cupped hands over his leg. "Are you holding his leg ready, Pearl?"

"I am," Pearl replied wearily.

Rose nodded as she let a small trickle of water splash onto Greg's broken leg. The water felt surprisingly warm for for just sitting in a heavily shaded grove. In fact, as the water hit his leg, it was like a wave of warmth swept through his whole body. Greg blinked, as sparkles began to dot over his vision.

Rose's hands parted, as the last bits of water fell from them. "Okay, Pearl. You can put his leg down."

Pearl didn't so much as put his leg down as dropped it, but as it fell Greg didn't feel any pain. Indeed, his leg felt _great_.

His _whole body_ felt great, in fact. The soreness in his feet from the hike; the aches in his back; the crick in his neck he'd had for the last month… All of it had faded, almost completely.

"Wow," he marveled. "That's incredible."

" _Hm_. It's certainly something," Rose smiled. "I'm fortunate that I was gifted such a power. It has proven invaluable over my lifetime."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Greg answered. "Though... does that mean that the Fountain is full of your tears?"

Rose nodded. "It does."

"Wow," Greg said slowly, eyeing the huge basin. He could only imagine how much crying it had taken to fill the whole thing. "Well, I hope those tears don't have a shelf life or anything."

Rose laughed, which wasn't the reaction Greg expected. Though maybe it should have been. "Mr. Universe, you always say the funniest things. "

Greg's brow furrowed as he looked down at his feet. "Um, yeah. Thanks." He blinked, refocusing. He still had more to do. "So, um... Where are we exactly?" All three sets of eyes were on him. He suddenly felt very weighed down. "I mean... it's hard to keep track sometimes, ya know? With warp pads and stuff."

"We're on Earth," the other Pearl shot at him. "That's all you need to know."

"Pearl!" Rose chided. "What did I tell you about being civil?"

"Civility doesn't extend to just telling people your most closely guarded secrets, Rose!" Pearl snapped back.

Rose frowned at her, but didn't answer back directly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Universe," she said, turning back to him. "I'm afraid I don't really know where we are. At least, not by how humans chart the world."

"So you don't have any idea?" It was a statement more than a question. Greg did his best to hide the frustrated disappointment out of his face.

Rose shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Universe. If we had a map, I could show you. But human countries and provinces change so much and so quickly, it's hard to keep track of it all."

Greg sighed. He came all this way, literally broke his leg doing so, and he couldn't even find out the information he needed.

What was he going to tell Steven?

"I believe we are in France." Greg turned, finding out it was _Garnet_ of all people who had spoke.

"Garnet!" Pearl protested, before immediately folding her arms and clamming up.

"Is that where we are?" Rose asked, completely ignoring the fuming Pearl right next to her. "Thank you, Garnet. No doubt that will be useful to know."

"Well, France is a pretty big place. Do you know what part we're in, exactly? Like, Paris, or the south, or what?"

Garnet fixed him with a heavy look that instantly made him regret asking. For a split second, Greg was sure Garnet knew the truth.

"Not really," she answered flatly, gaze unwavering. "Besides, if you're hurt again, just come to one of us and we'll bring you here."

Greg gulped. " _Heh_ , yeah. Right. No need... for that."

"Yes, why don't we just bring him here everyday," Pearl said bitterly. "Stars, we should just invite that whole town! I'm sure they'd all love to come with you, Rose!"

"Pearl..."

Rose reached over to put a hand on other Pearl's shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

"I'm going back to the Temple," she said despondently. She marched off towards the archway without a second glance. Garnet glanced at Rose, nodded, and followed after her.

Rose sighed.

"Hey, look," Greg quickly said. "I'm... sorry if me being here is causing any trouble."

Rose smiled at him, tinged with just a note of sadness. "It's not your fault, Mr. Universe. Pearl can simply be... unreasonable, at times."

"Yeah... You're telling me."

"I still love her dearly," Rose added. "But sometimes it feel like... like she doesn't understand what I desire."

"Uh, yeah..."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Rose said. "This must be boring to you."

"No, no. It's alright," Greg assured. "You can tell me anything."

"You're so sweet. And cute," Rose added with a grin. She got up from her seat, Greg doing the same, being careful not to put too much weight on his previously broken leg. But then, he really didn't feel any pain there at all. "I'll take you back to the Temple, Mr. Universe. Follow me."

He did so. As they walked through the garden and Rose talked about the various different types of roses that were planted, a single thought kept repeating through Greg's mind:

 _The Fountain is in France_.

* * *

 **Author's Note** \- Hey everyone! Thank you all for your continued support! Just wanted to say that if you haven't seen it yet, we currently have an ongoing prequel, "Diamond in the Rough", about how the relationship between Greg and Blue Diamond developed. If you're interested, check it out.


	9. Confrontation

**Content Warning:** this chapter includes some blood and gore.

 **Chapter Nine: Confrontation**

The information Greg got out of the Crystal Gems was a solid starting place. It gave them their first lead yet.

France was, admittedly, a rather large area of the planet, and searching the entirety of it on foot would be a daunting, if not impossible task. Thankfully, it was not a task which would be required of them. They have the internet. She began with a broad search ' _France healing_ '. It brought up many non-relevant terms, as Pearl knew it would— mainly hospitals and clinics in the country. She refined her search terms, again and again, and soon got more promising results. Myths of miraculous healings. Stories of a spring of eternal youth. A local saint, 'La Dame des Roses', associated with agriculture and protection. The encyclopedia article was filled with analysis and speculation, pointing out the similarities the figure bears to many religious and mythological figures across human cultures.

Pearl ignored all of that. It wasn't important.

Humans had finally advanced to the stage that they had orbital satellites monitoring their entire planet, and they'd used that technology to produce a comprehensive mapping system accessible by anyone with a computer. As rudimentary as it was, it served its purpose. Pearl pulled up that Gaggle Maps for that specific region of France, Steven and Lapis craning over her shoulders. The boy lost interest in less than an hour, and wandered off to practice his Korean vocabulary, but Lapis stayed. She was a solid presence at Pearl's side, never faltering, never blinking.

Pearl caught herself distracted by those mirrored eyes, and wondered how they would look once healed.

It took an entire night of poring over the map, but at last, Pearl caught something. A grainy image taken from space. Tucked among the mountain ranges, with zero pathways leading to it, was what looked to be a well manicured garden. Structures built from stone which could have been walls or fountains. There was a single blue dot which could certainly be nothing but a warp pad.

"Found it," Pearl said.

"You found it," Lapis breathed, as if barely believing her own words. Fingers digging into Pearl's shoulder, she leaned in closer to stare at the computer screen. " _You found it!_ "

Pearl smiled up at her, put a hand over Lapis's, and squeezed back.

"I'm going to be _healed_ ," Lapis said.

"Yes," Pearl said, but there was a note of warning in her voice. "But first we need to get there."

Warping directly wasn't an option. A warp pad required the user to have a clear picture of the destination in their mind. Greg hadn't been able to take pictures of the fountain, and Gaggle's maps images were too low resolution. Regardless, teleporting directly into enemy territory, without any idea of who might have been there or what defenses they had would have been folly.

While Steven woke up and Lapis helped him get ready for the day, Pearl did yet more research. She compared her own map of the planet's warp pads, and found there was one in the area currently called Belgium.

"Not far," Steven said, drawing a line in pencil on his wall map between the two places. (He'd marked Rose Quartz's fountain with a red pin.)

"I could fly there in just a few hours," Lapis said, "If only I had my wings."

Steven gave her a hug. Pearl bent down closer to her Pi's keyboard, and did more research.

There were many trains running between France and Belgium. That leg of the trip would not be particularly difficult or time consuming. The issue would be getting to the fountain itself. It would take several different buses to the nearest town, and after that, it would be a trek through an unknown mountain to reach it.

But Pearl was certain they would get there, even if it would take a while. Her biggest concern was leaving Steven alone in the Palanquin. No doubt he would be able to take after himself for a couple of days, but what if the mission stretched on longer? Perhaps she should book him a motel room. Either here, or in the United States, where Greg could keep an eye on him…

"What? No, I'm coming with you!" Steven said, once Pearl brought the idea up.

Pearl frowned, and tried to channel Greg's commanding tone. " _Steven_."

He crossed his arms. "I gotta come."

"You do not," said Pearl. "This will not be a leisurely trip. It will be a long trek into enemy territory, and it will be dangerous. I will take you to France another time."

"It's not about _France_ ," he said. "It's _because_ it'll be dangerous! I'm not letting you go on a dangerous mission alone! A Diamond is meant to protect their subjects. What kind of leader... what kind of _friend_ would I be if I let you do this without me?"

That wasn't what being a leader was about. Or, at least, not what being a Diamond was about. A Diamond had to care for her subjects, yes, but not at the risk of herself. If she was lost, everyone else was lost with her.

But Steven's declaration filled Pearl's core with something… warm. Something she didn't quite have a word for. She considered it as she ran her fingers absently across the beads of the bracelet Steve and Greg had gotten her in Empire City. Not happiness, precisely, because she still was not happy about the prospect of Steven being placed into danger, but…

Lapis, it seemed, _was_ happy, if only judging by her smile. "Oh, let him come," she said. "We'll be in and out real quick. The Crystal Gems won't even know we're there. Besides," she said, ruffling Steven's hair affectionately. "What better protection could we have than a Diamond?"

And now Steven was smiling along with Lapis, and there really was no way Pearl could say no to their matching grins. She sighed, but smiled a little herself. "Very well, then. You may come."

oOoOo

Garnet had forgotten just how _boring_ stake outs could be.

It was a tedium which she hadn't been exposed to since the War. There hadn't been any need for it. Gem monsters weren't particularly subtle or clever. After that initial, terrible round-up, the simplest method was to just wait until they were drawn to the power of the Temple and take care of them there.

But what Garnet was waiting for… it wasn't a Gem monster.

Probably. There were rarely any absolutes with Future Vision, after all.

It had started with a casual glance at the future earlier that morning, just to See if there were upcoming catastrophes to prevent. Garnet had Seen nothing more eventful than a trip with Rose to the Fountain to check on how her most recent healing experiments were going. Only, when they'd gotten there, they'd found the Fountain destroyed. The statues defaced, the basin broken, and worst of all, the precious tears, meticulously collected over the millennia, all spilled.

It wasn't a certain future. Garnet had peered down different pathways, and see timelines where the fountain itself was left in-tact, but the tears themselves still gone. Others still where it looked completely undisturbed.

Garnet wasn't wholly surprised. There was a reason she'd told Mr. Universe the location of the Fountain. Though she hadn't admitted it, she'd agreed with Pearl that there had been something suspicious in Mr. Universe's behaviour. She thought this might be a suitable test to determine if there really was something there.

It appeared there was. The Fountain being destroyed so shortly after sharing the information with him couldn't be a coincidence.

But things didn't add up. Wanton destruction didn't seem like Mr. Universe's style. There had to be something else causing these strange futures.

Garnet wasn't sure what that something was. But she intended to find out.

She had arrived at the garden late in this place's afternoon, and now true twilight was falling, only the thinnest line of pink visible over the tall brambles. Garnet did one final loop of the garden, still not finding anything (or anyone) amiss. The place was very quiet.

She returned to the Fountain proper. In the pool, a single bubble floated. Garnet picked it up carefully. Inside there was a corrupted gem— Snowflake Obsidian— suspended in water, both in the bubble and out. Rose was investigating if constant exposure to the tears could heal it. It was an experiment Rose had tried very early after the Corruption, and it had failed, like all other techniques, but evidently Rose thought that some repeat trials were in order.

Garnet opened her third eye, and Looked.

The future was closer now. She could See things more clearly. And she Saw, in the darkness of the night, two figures stealing into the garden…

Pearl?

No. A Pearl, but not _Pearl_. Too dim to make out any great detail, besides the fact she bore the Diamond insignia. And with her, a Lapis Lazuli, wearing the same symbol. They had with them a device— a floating orb, a miniature Red Eye, floating out to scan the gardens—

Garnet's eye snapped closed, and her fist clenched. Two uncorrupted, Homeworld Gems. On Earth.

This was not good.

She should not have come alone. She should have brought someone. But she hadn't. Pearl had been so suspicious about Greg and his questions regarding the fountain; Garnet had feared she would have jumped to conclusions, could have seen things that weren't there. Rose Quartz, meanwhile, was being willfully blind, annoyed at Pearl's worrying and irritation towards her latest human attraction, and dismissing any similar concerns. Amethyst could have come… but she could be so distracted. Garnet had not thought she'd have the patience for this kind of mission.

(And, if Garnet was being completely honest… maybe she'd been hoping to complete this one by herself. To remind Rose why it was unwise to dismiss her.)

Too late to go get any of them now. Night proper had fallen. The intruders could arrive any moment. Garnet reached down, took the bubbled obsidian, and tapped it, sending it back to the Temple. Rose would be annoyed at Garnet for disrupting the experiment, but it would be no good if the monster got loose and caused yet more chaos.

Garnet went behind a nearby archway, hid, and waited.

She didn't have to wait long, all told. She had barely even settled into her place when she heard the distinct hum of a Homeworld Scanner. She saw the red glow of the eye first, followed by the scanner itself.

Garnet sunk deeper behind the archway and into a bunch of bushes. The Red Eye Scanner came closer, humming around the fountain and bathing the area in its red searchlight, bit by bit.

When the scanner grew close, Garnet ducked completely underneath the bushes, waiting until the red light had passed her by completely before poking her head back out. The scanner had now retreated fountain proper, going through an entranceway and moving out of sight.

Several more minutes of near complete silence followed, broken only by the wind rustling the foliage and the movement of the tears in the fountain. But eventually, Garnet heard voices. Quiet and off in the distance at first, the voices grew in volume as they got closer. There were three of them, one for each the three figures that came into view.

Three figures. Three. It was the third that made Garnet pause in consideration.

Two were Gems, that was for sure. A Pearl and a Lapis Lazuli, matching Garnet's Vision. But the third was… different. At first Garnet thought maybe she was a Tourmaline or Aquamarine, but her size and shape didn't match either gem type. But she had to be _some_ sort of Gem. Not only to be accompanying two others, but Garnet could _sense_ her Song, though the rhythm was unlike any she had felt before.

"This must be the fountain," the Pearl spoke, approaching the edge of the basin and peering over. "Hm. It looks just like normal water."

"Doesn't really matter what it looks like," the Lazuli said. She raised her hand in the air, and and a orb of the Fountain's healing tears rose with it. "Because if this is _really_ all I need to heal myself…"

"Wait." It was the small Gem talking now. Her voice was rather low-pitched and scratchy. "What if this is like a trap, or something? Like, poison in the water?"

Garnet slid back deeper into the bushes, trying to hide her presence even more.

"How could it be a trap?" the Lazuli asked. "No one knew we were coming."

"Unless they suspected Greg," the Pearl added.

Garnet felt her entire form tighten. So Greg _was_ responsible for this. When Rose found out, she'd be—

No. That wasn't right. At worst, Greg was simply a human being manipulated by these Gems. Even with that in mind, it meant the friendship Rose had thought she'd built with him was false.

Garnet did not look forward the time when she was going to have to tell Rose that.

"Look, I'm already cracked," the Lazuli went on. Scanning her back, Garnet confirmed this. Her tear-shaped gem was between her shoulder blades and it had a noticeable gash down the back of it. In fact… in a way that seemed rather familiar…

"Yes," the Pearl said. "But there are worse fates than being cracked."

"Oh. _I know_ ," the Lazuli said, her tone coated in ice. "And while I'm not eager to revisit that, at least I know what awaits me if things get worse."

The smallest Gem, however, seemed unsure. "I dunno," she said, kicking at the ground. "I mean… Your eyes are still mirror-y, but…"

"And I don't have a full grasp of my powers," the Lazuli added. "I can't summon my wings."

"Yeah, but we have warp pads! You don't need wings."

"Lapis being able to fly _would_ be a distinct advantage, my Steven," the Pearl said. "A Lapis Lazuli's top speed when flying can be rather swift."

 _'My Steven'_? Was 'Steven' some kind new gem type? Possible; Garnet had been away from Homeworld for a long time. But the fact that it sounded like a human name was… disquieting. What was Homeworld up to?

"I know…" the small Gem moaned. "But I don't want—"

"This is about what _I_ want," the Lapis said, a slight warning to her voice. The Pearl shot her a silent look and even the smaller Gem seemed a little unhappy with the Lazuli's declaration. But if it bothered her, the Lazuli certainly didn't let on. "Okay," she went on as the orb of water hovered over her. "I'm going to put it on, right now. You two might want to back away—"

"No. Drop it."

Garnet finally revealed herself, jumping from the bush and into clearer view.

The Lazuli's eyes flashed defiantly, and did not heed Garnet's words. Her hand opened and in an instant the water fell, dowsing her and getting the other two Gems quite wet as well.

The tears had their effect on the Lazuli, filling the air with sparkles.

"Lapis!" the small Gem— 'Steven'— cried. "Your eyes! They're not mirrors anymore!"

Neither the Lazuli nor the Pearl paid any attention to her. They were focused entirely on Garnet. In fact, the Pearl even stepped in front of the Steven, laying a hand on her to keep her back

It was now, with the Pearl brought out of the shadows and into dwindling twilight, that Garnet could now pin down where she had seen the Pearl before. Or, more specifically, where Sapphire had seen her before. For that wasn't any ordinary Pearl.

That was _Blue Diamond's_ personal Pearl.

And she was here. On Earth. At _Rose's Fountain._

Why? And where was Blue Diamond?

"We don't want any trouble," the Pearl said. "We merely needed the water in the Fountain. For healing purposes."

"Really," Garnet stated flatly. "That's why you came here, as night, and in secret."

The Pearl grimaced, but didn't deny it. But the small Gem stepped from behind her and spoke forcefully, "It's because you rebels can't be trusted! You keep all the healing water to yourself when it could be helping Gems on Homeworld!"

"Steven—" the Pearl spoke, pushing the Gem back behind her. But the small Gem wasn't so easily dissuaded. She kept trying to push past the Pearl, and might have done so, if the Lazuli hadn't also gotten involved, holding her back. The Steven seemed to be getting worked up, if her scrunched up expression and reddening face were any indication.

Garnet hadn't been prepared to go on the attack just yet. First, she was going to demand more answers. But… then she began to clearly hear the Song.

The Pearl's and the Lapis Lazuli's were the clearest. Elegant, lyrical, graceful, both different yet flowing together in harmony.

But it was the third, the small Gem, whose Song was so _muted_ , that felt completely different from any that Garnet had ever felt. And yet at the same time, hauntingly familiar.

It was two rhythms really. The first was low and methodical; _Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump_ , over and over, a steady, near perfect beat.

But the other song, the one hidden just below the surface… It filled Garnet was a near-forgotten terror. It was deep and full and commanding, like a march that compelled to you to fall into step with it.

Sapphire was _very_ familiar with that Song. It reminded her of entering Court, of the eyes of dozens of courtesans trained on her, awe and deference on their faces as she delivered her latest predictions. But also, she remembered: Gems writhing on the floor, screaming in agony, Sapphire merely standing to the side, watching, resigned, pretending that she wasn't witnessing torture...

"Blue Diamond…" Garnet breathed. Her gauntlets were out. "What are _you doing here_?"

"He's not Blue Diamond," the Pearl said, voice sharp as a blade. Garnet could not see her eyes, but she could feel her glare. "He is Steven."

"A Diamond would not send their Pearl without being present themselves," Garnet returned. "You can call her whatever you want. I can _sense_ her Song."

"My… song?" Blue Diamond stammered. The look of confusion was passable, but Garnet knew the Diamond's deceit. This was all just a game to them.

One that Garnet was determined to win.

"Look," the Lazuli took a step forward. She looked… mad. Madder than either the Pearl or Blue Diamond, in fact. Garnet braced herself, unsure what the Lazuli's plan was. "We just needed some quick healing," she said. "Let us walk away and there won't be any… complications."

"When a Diamond comes to Earth, that's not really something I can just look away from." Garnet began to walk in a circle around them, like a predator closing in on her prey.

" _Hmph!_ Mom was coming to Earth for years before she met Dad!" Blue Diamond yelled. "She was here all the time and you didn't even know!"

"My Steven, please…" the Pearl pleaded.

"That's not possible." Garnet shook her head. "If you've been here longer then I would have Seen it."

"Seen it?" Blue Diamond asked. "Are you trying to spy on us?"

"Future Vision," the Pearl answered. "She's part Sapphire."

"She's a… fusion?" Blue Diamond asked slowly. Garnet gritted her teeth. Blue Diamond's machinations were starting to annoy. "If she's a fusion, then we _need_ to defeat her," Blue Diamond said, straightening up, sounding more like herself now.

"I'm not sure, my Steven," the Pearl timidly responded. "If we can get out of this without conflict…"

"I don't know, Pearl," the Lazuli said, her hand raising in the air. The water in the Fountain mirrored the movement, a giant fist rising with it. "If she _is_ a fusion, she came here looking for a fight. I say we indulge her."

The Pearl looked worried, frightened even. Blue Diamond nodded silently, a look of uncertain determination on her face.

Garnet readied herself, clenching her fists and falling into a battle stance. She opened her third eye, briefly Looking at all the various paths this encounter could go down. Some were good, some were bad. Some… were best not to dwell on. All the more reason to fight harder and give them everything she had.

"It's over, Blue Diamond," Garnet intoned. "I'm going to do what I couldn't all those millennia ago. Bring you to justice."

And with that, Garnet lunged forward, lunging with a blow aim directly at Blue Diamond

The blow never connected, however. Something hit Garnet first. Garnet was pushed back, almost knocked off her feet by a torrent of water. The Lazuli's opening attack.

Garnet smirked. If the Lazuli really was suppose to be their heavy hitter, then Blue Diamond had sorely miscalculated this encounter.

Without missing a beat, Garnet charged again, dodging one watery blast, another, another— but one came from the side and sent her hurtling back. She was flung, _hard,_ against the ground, but any pain quickly receded as the Fountain's tears washed over her.

Garnet was back on her feet in an instant, bearing down this time on the Lazuli. The enemy's weapon was healing tears. Garnet could take as many hits as Lazuli wanted to throw at her. But Garnet had to shut this down, and not just because she didn't appreciate being juggled around like a toy. It had taken Rose thousands upon thousands of years to collect all those tears. It would be waste to let them simply be a Lazuli's plaything.

Garnet was on top of the Lazuli, bearing down on her. The Pearl grabbed Blue Diamond and leapt to the side, and with just a second to save herself, the Lazuli managed to leap in the other direction.

In the second and a half it took Garnet to turn and face the Lazuli, she had kicked off from the ground, two watery wings sprouting from her back.

She flew over Garnet's head, just barely out of reach, and reached out a hand to the Pearl and Blue Diamond. "Grab my hand!" she screamed. "We need to get out of here!"

It seemed the Lazuli had caught on.

The Lapis Lazuli flew in closer to the pair, trying to grab the Pearl's outstretched hand.

Just a bit closer…

 _There._

Garnet leapt, gauntleted hand striking out and she grabbed tightly around the Lazuli's ankle. The Lazuli's glared over her shoulder and began trying to kick Garnet with her free foot.

With all her strength, Garnet pulled her. Lazuli's wings fluttered, but she remained airborne. Again Garnet pulled, and the force was enough for the Lazuli to jerk downward, Garnet grabbing her arm.

The Lazuli was thrashing, trying to free herself, but it was no use. Garnet tightened her grip on the arm and and _crushed_.

"Steven—!" The Lazuli was cut off.

In an explosion of smoke, the Lazuli's form was gone, Garnet's hands now gripping nothing but empty air. With one swift movement, Garnet caught the Lazuli's falling and gem and in another, she bubbled it and sent it back to the Temple.

"Lapis!" Blue Diamond yelled. Garnet turned her attention towards her; she looked equal parts horrified and furious. The Pearl pushed Blue Diamond aside, throwing herself between her master and Garnet.

"Steven. Leave. Now." The Pearl sounded like she was barely able to hold it together. And true, her normally smooth and precise movements were now jittery and unsure. But still, she stepped determinedly in front of Blue Diamond, holding her hand out backwards as if that could stop the monarch from moving to the front. "Run. Take the warp pad and go. Far away; from here _and_ Beach City."

"Neither of you are going anywhere," Garnet said. "Except with me, to the Temple."

"Go." One last, almost pleading whisper and the Pearl was running at Garnet, her hand at her gem and her hair dishevelled to reveal a bright, piercing gaze. The Pearl's gem was burning with light. Garnet readied herself for whatever the Pearl's attack was going to be. She braced—

And felt something wet and scaly slap her across her face, knocking her shades off.

Garnet stared at the sunglasses, lying on the ground for a moment poofing into nothingness. Then she refocused her gaze on the Pearl who was holding, of all things, a _fish_ in her hands. She looked nearly as surprised as Garnet.

Whether an intentional move on the Pearl's part or not, she used the opening well, throwing the fish aside and pulling a new object from her gem.

A thin, slim weapon, its blade glowing electric blue in the darkness. A laser knife. Much more dangerous.

The Pearl yelled and lunged at Garnet, stabbing and swiping the knife every which way. Most of the attacks missed, but a few made their mark. Garnet winced in pain every time the knife's glowing blade struck her form.

But it was never enough to do lasting harm and soon, the Pearl swung too wide and left herself completely open.

She was far from the warrior Pearl Garnet knew.

Garnet grabbed the Pearl's wrist, wresting the knife from her grasp. It fell, deactivating and clattering loudly against the ground.

The Pearl tried to pull away, putting on as brave a face as possible. But much like the Lazuli, she was unable to match Garnet's strength. Garnet grabbed the Pearl's other arm and prepared to deliver the finishing strike.

"No! Let Pearl go!"

Garnet felt a blow land against her thigh and suddenly the Pearl was out of her grasp and Garnet was _flying_ back, landing painfully against one of the Fountain's walls.

Blue Diamond hadn't fled, after all. Now she was at the Pearl's side, both on their knees.

"Are you alright, Pearl?" she asked.

The Pearl said something in response, too low for Garnet to hear. Didn't matter. Garnet climbed swiftly back to her feet, raised her fists and aimed her gauntlets at the pair. With luck, one blast would be all she needed.

She fired her rocket gauntlets and they flew at their targets. In the instant before impact, the Pearl turned, eyes wide in shock and horror.

"Steven!" she yelled. She threw herself around Blue Diamond, wrapping her tightly in her arms.

The rocket gauntlets struck the Pearl in the back and exploded.

"PEARL!" Through the smoke clearing debris, Blue Diamond's voice cracked against Garnet.

When she was able to see clearly again, Garnet saw that Blue Diamond was on her knees, _crying_ and cradling the Pearl's gem.

"Pearl… Pearl, please… Don't leave me…"

Garnet's gauntlets grew back as she strode over to Blue Diamond. She could have used another rocket blast, but Garnet didn't want to hurt the Pearl's gem. Or Blue Diamond, even if she _did_ deserve it. That would be needlessly cruel, and anyway, Garnet wanted answers.

"Give her to me," Garnet commanded, holding her hand out.

Blue Diamond knocked it aside, scampering to her feet and back several steps. "No! I won't let you hurt Pearl! I won't let you!" Her voice was raw and ragged, and despite the tear stains that ran down her face, her teeth were sharp and pointed, bared at Garnet like a wild animal's.

Garnet grimaced, before stepping closer and reaching for the gem. Blue Diamond tried to get away, but Garnet grabbed a hold of the Pearl and, when Blue Diamond refused to let go, pushed the Diamond aside, making her lose her grip. Garnet quickly bubbled the gem, sending it away to the Temple.

All that was left now was Blue Diamond.

Though, at the moment, Blue Diamond was on her hands and knees, her form shaking and… crying? Why was she crying?

No matter. Garnet picked the tiny Diamond up, and tore her body in half—

— and instead of a poofing sound, there was an ugly _rip_ , and instead of smoke, there was blood, blood and other foul liquids. The air turned thick with the funk of it, scent like iron and sewage, all of it pouring out of the body's guts, onto Garnet's hands, onto the floor, Blue Diamond screaming in pain until her face went slack, mouth gaping—

Garnet slammed her third eye closed, recoiling from the Future Vision. In the present, Blue Diamond was still trembling on the floor, her strange flesh body whole and unharmed.

What had that **_been_**?

"Get up," Garnet commanded, trying not to let her horror show. "It's over. You've lost. I'm taking you prisoner."

Blue Diamond said nothing.

"I said, _get up_."

"... How could you hurt Pearl and Lapis?" Blue Diamond asked, her voice shaking. "We just wanted some of the healing tears from the fountain. Why couldn't you just leave us alone?"

Her voice was growing in volume. And strength.

"' _Leave you alone'_?" Garnet repeated, unable to fully believe what she was hearing. " _Heh._ It takes a Diamond to have the gall to accuse me of not _leaving her alone_."

"We just needed the tears!" Blue Diamond yelled at her. "We just needed to heal Lapis! We weren't going to hurt anyone!"

"Don't," Garnet cut in, a deadly sharp edge to her voice. "After _all_ that you and the other Diamonds have done, do _not_ claim you never meant to hurt anyone."

Blue Diamond got to her feet, giving Garnet a dark and cold look. "I hate you," she said, first a whisper but then louder. "I hate you. Crystal Gems, fusions, fountains… I hate all of you."

Garnet noticed sparks of bright blue electricity arcing off of and around Blue Diamond. Garnet prepared herself.

"Give me back Pearl and Lapis," Blue Diamond demanded, her eyes shining in the darkness, blue light spilling out from beneath her shirt. "Give them back to me."

Garnet said nothing, only readying herself. Sparks were forming around Blue Diamond. The air smelled of ozone. It was about to happen…

"Give them to me _NOW_!"

All at once, as a whole wave, the building electricity arched off of Blue Diamond and launched itself at Garnet. There was no room and no time for her to dodge. She put her arms up, covering her face, even though she knew it would do no good.

The wave washed over her and Garnet felt her knees buckle beneath her, barely able to catch herself before hitting the ground.

Garnet gritted her teeth and shut her eyes.

She _hurt_ , all over. But not physical pain. This was a deep, hurtful, cutting _pain_ that didn't attack her body, but her soul.

 ** _I͢ to҉o̵k͡ Sa̧pphir͠e a̸ẁay̡ fro͏m̢ he̕r͝ ̢s̴afe ̢l͡ife͜ o͡n̸ Hǫm͡e̴w̨o̢r̨ld.́ ̢She'͟s g͞oi͡ng ̴to̶ ̧be͜ ̀c͜r҉a̡c͠ḱed or ͝sh̸a̛t͠te̢r̵ed҉ o͟r͜ w͢o҉rs̷e͜ ͞a̡nd̴ ͠i̵t ̡will all͏ b͟e m̶y̸ ̡f́a̢ul̛t͡._**

 ** _If̀ onl̀y ́mỳ͞ F̵ùtu͟ŕĕ V҉i̸sḭoṅ ͜h͢aḑ ̸b͠ëěn͠ b̢e̵ţt͟ër.̵ I c͡oů͞ld ̸hav̶e͞ ś́e̴ȩṉ̷ the͏ ̡Cor̕ȑ̢uptḯo̴ņ Bō͜mb ̵ańd t̸rî͢ed tó s̢a̢vê͢ ̀ėv́ȩ́r̢y̵ỏñ̨e, ͟raț̴hẹr҉ t͏h͟ěṉ͝ ̕let͞ ̸ṯhë͡ṁ͏ ̡ẗu͠r͏n ̕ỉnto ̢mon͝stēr̨s͘.̧_**

Garnet gripped her head, gripped her palms, gripped onto anything she could. She tried to ignore or block out the what she was feeling, but it was _true_. It was all true. She had failed, completely and utterly.

 ** _Į'm̡ ǰüsṫ ̕a ͢ṃ̕öns̕ẗ̛eŕ, ̵an̕d̶ ͞a̷b͢o͏ṃ̕iņat̷ioń.͘ ͡Ì sh̨öú͢ld ḩ̈àv͏e̢ ͝le͠ẗ́ Ḃ͜ḻ̵ue Dia̸mon͏d͝ ̵s̕h̀a͘tt̡eṛ̕ m͝è ̕an͝d j̕ùst̴ ͟lẻt̀ ̀ḯṭ̷ en̵d̵ ̶ther̴e_**

 _'No. That's not true. And you know that.'_

 _'Yeah. We've fought with all we had, always to protect others.'_

 ** _Ǐt's ̸t̀rū̡é̴-̡-͞ jų͟st̵ à̛ ̨mon̕śtë̷r̶, ͘j̕ůst̢ a ҉frę̕ak͏.̵ ͡I̵ g͟ȍt ̛ḛv̸er͞ỵò͝ne͜ ȅlşë̴ ̴sĥatṯȩrėd̶ ̀õr҉ ̶córr҉u̸p̕t҉e̛ḑ-͡- ̶mô͠ṅ͜ste͞ȑ̀ş,̸ j̨ųs̕t ҉liķè͟ më͟_**

 _'You are_ ** _not_ **_a monster. You're my hero, Ruby. I love you. Completely.'_

 _'And I love my Laughy-Sapphy with everything I've got.'_

 _'And… Garnet— you are that love.'_

 _'You're not a freak, or a monster or an abomination. You're made of love. And you're stronger then this.'_

 _'So get up, Garnet. And finish this.'_

"No!" Garnet shouted, slamming her fist on the ground and expelling a small energy wave from either of her gems. She had an electricity all of her own, and it burned around her, burning the blue lighting away. And all at once, she was out of her own mind and back at the Fountain, Blue Diamond beginning to cower as she got up.

"It's over," Garnet spoke heavily.

She lunged and grabbed Blue Diamond's arm. Blue Diamond pulled and flailed, trying to get away, but it was for nothing. Blue Diamond was _weak_ , surprisingly weak. She tried to punch and push Garnet, and it did hurt, but compared to what she had just gone through, the punches were nothing.

In response, Garnet punched the flailing Diamond in the abdomen, causing her the keel over. The moment's vulnerability was all Garnet needed. The proud fusion picked the Diamond up, and, body and all, captured her in a red bubble.

Garnet didn't know why Blue Diamond was here. Didn't know why she'd had such a small guard, didn't know why she'd been so easily defeated, didn't know why she wore such a small form, didn't know why this body bled. But she intended to find out.

"Let me go, fusion! Let me go!"

Garnet held up the captured Diamond, screaming, banging ineffectively at the sides of the bubble, and smirked. " _Got you_."


	10. Captives

**Chapter Ten: Captives**

Steven's hands slammed against the side of the bubble, hitting them with all his might, and blue electricity fizzled around them, but neither did anything, they both bounced harmlessly off. Once or twice he thought he was getting somewhere— his nails were digging in, like he'd be able to rip it open— but then there'd be a _pressure_ , and he'd lose his grip.

He stared up at the fusion's cold, impassive face. The two Gems that made them up weren't reacting at all.

Steven curled up around himself, struggling against the burn of tears. He couldn't escape this. And even if he could, what would he do? They'd taken Lapis, they'd taken Pearl—

"I hate you," Steven muttered, one more time. The fusion gave no indication they'd heard him. At least they were wearing those glasses again, so he didn't have to see their freakish three eyes anymore.

They were taking him to a warp pad. They'd bring him to the Crystal Gem base and then they'd— they'd— they'd kill him— just like they did to Pink—

The warp stream looked red through the filter of the bubble, and all too quickly it disappeared. It was replaced with a cave of stone and crystal, and standing in the middle of it was Rose Quartz. He'd recognise her anywhere. Her sharp, burning eyes, this twist of her scowl, the glint of her sword—

She didn't have her sword, not now. She was— she was just standing there, smiling and chatting, chatting with—

 _Dad_.

He almost called out to him automatically, but clamped down at the last second. He couldn't. If the Crystal Gems found out Dad was connected to him, they'd just kill him too.

Steven saw recognition flash on Dad's face as he turned; shock and incomprehension and horror, one after the other. "Holy _sh_ —"

"Garnet," said Rose Quartz, tilting her head. "Why do you have a human child?"

"Not a human child," said the fusion.

"I don't understand," Rose Quartz said.

The fusion carried him towards her; Steven's heart thudded faster in his chest. They said, "Listen."

And Rose Quartz came, bending down close, so close that she could have touched him, and pressed her ear against the bubble, and Steven's blood was ice. He saw her eyes widen and felt at least some sliver of satisfaction at the fear on her face. She whispered, "Blue Diamond."

"I'm-" Steven's voice came out squeaky, so he tried again. "I'm not Blue Diamond. My name's Steven. I'm a human."

The fusion shook her head. "It's her. She has her Song, she had her lightning, she had her Pearl—"

"Her Pearl?" asked Rose Quartz. "Where is—"

"Now wait a minute," said Dad, pushing Rose Quartz aside. "Just what is going on here? Let that kid go!"

"This is not a child," said Rose Quartz.

"Yeah, he is! Look at him! You can't just keep him locked up!"

"Yes, I can," the fusion said, her voice monotone and dangerous. She was staring right down at Dad. "You've been working for her. You told her and her entourage where the healing Fountain was."

Rose Quartz's eyes went large. "What?"

Dad had gone very, very still.

"I'm sorry, Rose," said the fusion. "Blue Diamond came to the Fountain with a Pearl and a Lapis Lazuli. I had visions of them destroying it. They mentioned him by name."

"Is this true, Mr. Universe?" asked Rose Quartz, quiet.

"I…" Dad was staring at the floor. "Rose— I— I'm sorry-"

And then he leapt forward, right up to the bubble, reaching out to Steven—

The fusion smacked him to the ground. Steven winced, kicked out automatically, but hit nothing.

"Mr. Universe!" Rose Quartz yelled.

She picked Dad up by the back of the shirt. His eyes were wild and frantic, he was kicking and flailing, and he was in her hands—

"Dad!" Steven cried, "Dad, Dad, no!"

"Dad?" Rose Quartz repeated.

Everything was happening at once. Dad was shaking his head, saying, " _Steven, no_ ," and there was a bright light and the Crystal Gem base opened, and out spilled the other rebels— the little Amethyst and the other Pearl— and everyone was talking, and shouting, and Steven felt sick, his whole body hurt, they already had Pearl and they were gonna get Dad too—

He sobbed, and there was a wave of blue light.

It rolled out from him, filling the entire cave, washing over Dad and the rebels. Instantly, everyone froze. Steven managed to get a hold of himself enough to see their faces transform into what had to be mirrors of his own, huge tears overflowing from their eyes. The Amethyst even wailed.

Steven took a breath, and the light faded.

Everyone shook themselves.

"Stop that," the fusion said. Steven glared at them.

The other Pearl was there now. She had a spear out, and was pointing it at him, her expression sharp and cruel. "Is that really—?"

"That was certainly her powers," said Rose Quartz, still holding Dad as he struggled. "I'm sorry. Pearl, Garnet, I'm sorry, I should have listened to you."

"It's alright," the fusion said.

The Pearl just nodded. All her attention was fixed on the captive. Steven couldn't tear his eyes away. She looked so similar to Pearl, especially through the bubble's filter— but Pearl's eyes, whenever they were seen, could never be full of such detest—

"I thought a Diamond would be bigger," said a voice from below, and it was the Amethyst, staring up at him.

"She should be," said the Pearl. "Why on Earth has she taken such a small form? Why is she even on Earth in the first place?"

"I don't know," the fusion said.

"THAT'S BECAUSE HE'S NOT BLUE DIAMOND!" Dad yelled.

The attention shifted off of Steven as all four sets of eyes came to rest on Dad instead.

"Then what is he?" said the Amethyst.

"He's—" Dad gulped. "He's human."

"You've been tricked," said the Pearl, scornfully.

"I have not. He's my son."

Another one of those horrible, ugly silence. Steven wanted to fill it with, to say something, anything, but no words would come.

Slowly, deliberately, Rose Quartz turned Dad around in her arms so that he was facing her. From this angle, Steven couldn't see his Dad's face, but he could see the rebel leader's. It was unexpectedly soft. Like a cherub, almost, from a renaissance painting. She said, "She called you 'Dad'."

Dad gave a jerky nod.

"How is that possible?" asked Rose Quartz.

"It's not, obviously," said Pearl. "She's just shapeshifted. Maybe this human is lying, or has been tricked, some way or another, but this is most certainly Blue Diamond, we can all feel it—"

"It's not a trick," said Dad. "He's my son. Mine and Blue Diamond's."

The Amethyst laughed. "That's stupid. Gems don't have kids."

"I know they don't usually," said Dad. "But Blue Diamond did. That's our child. His name is Steven Universe, and he is not her. Please— I know, I know you guys had your— issues, but please, whatever you do, don't kill him—"

For moment, nobody spoke. Then Rose Quartz said, "We won't."

Steven couldn't believe his ears, couldn't stop the rush of unexpected relief flooding through his veins.

Slowly, Rose Quartz put Dad down. She did not release him— did not take her hands off his shoulders— but did let him stand on his own two feet. For a second, he and Steven exchanged a single look, filled with a dozen things they both wanted to say but couldn't.

"The body is meat," said the fusion.

"What?" said Rose Quartz, the Pearl and the Amethyst, in unison.

"This body is not a hologram. It is made of meat." The fusion lifted the bubble to inspect Steven more closely. He struggled not to squirm under her hidden gaze. "I had a vision where I attempted to destroy her physical form, but she didn't retreat into her gem. Instead there was a lot of blood."

Steven jerked back in horror, heard his Dad wince in pain.

"That sounds…" The Pearl trailed off, shaking her head. "Could she be interfering with your future vision?"

"No," said the fusion.

The Amethyst blinked up at him. "I think it sounds cool. Can we test it?"

"No!" said Steven.

"Enough." Rose Quartz's voice rang with authority. "We need answers. Blue Diamond or not, you will give them to us."

Steven's hands clenched. He didn't want to tell her anything.

But that wasn't an option anymore, was it?

"I'll tell you whatever, but—" He paused to lick his lips.

The Pearl jabbed her spear near the bubble. "You're in no position to make demands."

Steven's mouth went even drier, but he managed to say, "I'll tell you anything, as long as you let them go. My Dad, Lapis, Pearl. All of them."

He was very satisfied to see the Pearl look surprised.

She recovered quickly, however. "So they can return to Homeworld and report your capture? Please."

"No! It's not like that— please—"

"Here. I have let Mr. Universe go." Rose Quartz's voice cut through the air. Steven looked over, and true to her word, she had let go of his Dad. Now she strode over to Steven. The fusion still held onto the bubble, but the other two Crystal Gems made way for their commander. Dad stood where he'd been left, looking at a loss.

 _Run, Dad!_ Steven thought, but his father did not.

Up close, Rose Quartz looked very big indeed. "We shall allow Pearl and Lapis Lazuli their freedom, on the condition that we have established they pose minimal threat to us, and that you swear to answer our questions completely and honestly."

"O-okay," said Steven.

Rose Quartz nodded, a small action that still sent ripples through her hair. "First question: What are you doing on Earth?"

"I live here!"

"Since when?" said the Amethyst.

"My whole life!"

The Pearl groaned. "This is useless…"

Dad stepped forward. "Steven's twelve. He was born on Earth. It's his home."

Another one of those terrible silences.

"Alright," said Rose Quartz, at length. "Let us assume, for a moment, that the story is true, and you are Blue Diamond's child. Do you have any of her memories?"

Steven said, "No."

"And why did Blue Diamond come to Earth in the first place?"

Dad was the one who answered that one, stammering through an explanation of how Blue Diamond had come to Earth to grieve (giving Rose Quartz a fierce glare at that point), but then she'd met Dad, been intrigued, and decided to stay.

The following interrogation was simultaneously terrifying and boring, which Steven didn't even know was possible. He and Dad kept answering the same questions, again and again, in different ways, as his captives tried to pick holes in their story. The Crystal Gems were stupid, and suspicious, and didn't want to believe anything they told them. They didn't even believe Steven was a boy!

Finally, though— finally, the Crystal Gems were convinced enough to give some some leniency, in exchange with more physical proof.

The fusion poked the bubble: it disappeared with a small poof, and Steven fell to the ground, landing right on his butt. It hurt. Just another pain on top of the bone-deep ache from where the fusion had punched him.

Almost immediately he was being ordered to stand. Somebody pulled his shirt and hoodie off, but Steven didn't even have the chance to feel cold before somebody was grabbing his hands, holding him down. Rose Quartz leaned over him, staring down at his bare torso, hesitated-

— then touched his gem.

Steven was used to things touching it. His clothes, obviously, and water when bathed. But the only other _people_ who'd ever touched it was Dad and Pearl. That felt strange, but nice. _This_ felt... weird. Uncomfortable. Invasive. Like another mind brushing against his, making him shiver.

Rose Quartz's face was impossible to read. But seemingly satisfied, she backed away.

Still being held down, they tied Steven up in a whip summoned by the Amethyst. He forced himself not to struggle, not to wince, even though the whip was covered in thorny-barbs that dug uncomfortably into his skin. It didn't help that his balance felt off from so long floating in that bubble, or that his entire abdomen was still a mass of pain.

They'd let Dad go. He could have left, could have gone into Beach City, could have gotten into his van and drove away and been safe. But he refused to leave. So the enemy Pearl got a rope out of her gem and bound Dad's arms.

"Just a precaution," said Rose Quartz. "We can't have you attacking us again, Mr. Universe."

"You'd just get hurt," said the fusion.

"Don't threaten him, fusion," Steven snapped.

"My name," they said, "is Garnet."

"And mine," he responded, "is Steven."

They stared at each other for several long moments.

The fusion— Garnet— was the first one to back down. "Very well," they said, and looked at Dad. "It wasn't a threat. Just fact. I don't want to hurt you."

Steven snorted. The Crystal Gems ignored him.

For a given value of 'ignore'. Even tied up, the rebels were afraid of him. They were always watching, and all of them had their weapons out.

If Mom had been there, she would have been strong enough to take them all on, even with her arms tied up. She'd just shoot them all with lightning so strong it would poof 'em in a single blast.

But Steven couldn't do anything.

But he could get his friends their freedom. The door to the Temple opened in a flash of pink, and Rose Quartz disappeared inside of it to complete her end of the bargain. A few minutes she reappeared. On her arm, her pink shield shimmered. From a belt around her waist hung a scabbard, carrying the sword which had killed Pink Diamond. In her hands were two red bubbles—

"Pearl! Lapis!" Steven cried.

They let Pearl out. She reformed in a brilliant shimmer of blue, and Steven could have cried for joy.

"Steven," she gasped, once she had got her bearings. "My Steven—"

She tried to run to him, to hug him, to help him, but was held back by the other Pearl. She warned, "No closer."

"No," Pearl whispered, shaking her head. "No, no— I'm sorry, my Steven, I'm so sorry—"

"It's okay," Steven said, trying to sound reassuring, and not succeeding. "It's okay, Pearl. They're— they're going to let you go, they promised…"

Pearl said nothing, just gave one last tiny shake of her head, and went still. She allowed the Amethyst to tie her up in a whip just like Steven's.

"Now Lapis," Steven demanded.

"Not yet," Rose Quartz said. "First, you will take us to your Palanquin. We will let her go once your claims are verified."

"That wasn't the deal!" Steven yelled.

Rose Quartz passed Lapis's bubble to Garnet, who took it without a word. Then she swept towards him, one hand resting on the hilt of her sword. Steven gulped. "The agreement was that we would let them go once we have proven they pose minimal threat, and if you gave us complete honesty. I cannot be sure of either of those things until we have have seen your Palanquin, where you claim to live.

"So, Steven Universe," Rose Quartz continued, a sardonic smile on her face. She tilted her head towards the warp pad. "Lead the way."

* * *

Pearl ducked her head underneath a branch as the group moved forward through the wooded area. She felt a tug on the rope she was holding, and tugged back.

"Hey! Watch it!" Mr. Universe— Greg, protested. "You're going to make me fall over." He chafed at the ropes that bound around him.

Pearl chose not to mention that, were that to happen, she would consider it a happy bonus.

Instead, she directed a question to The Diamond: "When are we going to get there?"

The other Pearl— the one in Blue Diamond's service— answered for him, "Shortly. It is past this wooded area and through a hilly clearing. Even you could not miss it," she added softly.

Pearl was going to respond to the comment, but it seemed Amethyst had her covered. She gave a light tug at the whip in her hand that tied the other Pearl up. "Hey! No giving Pearl lip. That's my job."

Pearl gave a tight grin at her, "Thank you, Amethyst. What would I do without you?"

"Die of boredom, probably," said Amethyst.

The Diamond snorted (or perhaps just huffed as he tripped over a root) and Pearl shot her a look. "Something you want to say?"

The Diamond didn't respond.

Pearl's every sense was on edge. She took in everything— the lay of the land, the shapes in the trees, the distant sound of animals. So far, everything appeared to be a regular Earth forest, but she wasn't going to trust that. They were being lead into enemy territory, and there was a very good possibility for an ambush. There could be an Aquamarine or an Agate behind any corner. And if there was, Pearl was determined to be ready.

"Which way?" Rose asked from the front of the group, Garnet next to her, holding the Lapis Lazuli's bubble.

"Left. Past the hill," the other Pearl answered.

"But that's the slow way," The Diamond finally spoke. "It's faster if we go right."

"Yes, but if we go that way, then we would need to cross the narrow footing along the cliffside," the Pearl calmly answered. "And tired as you are, my Steven, I do not think it would be safe for you." The slightest pause. "And I am in no state to carry you."

Pearl frowned, not bothering to hide her disgust. Now the Diamonds expected to be _carried_ by Pearls? What was next?

They continued on in silence, the only sound being their shuffling feet in the underbrush. The Diamond began whistling, of all things. Pearl knew the danger a Diamond's song pose, and went immediately on guard, as did Rose and Garnet.

But the whistle was short. Once finished, the Diamond looked up, scanning the foliage above.

"My Steven…" the other Pearl said, a tone of slight disapproval in her voice.

"It's alright. Nari's not around anyway," The Diamond replied.

"Who's Nari?" Rose asked, but it was Garnet who answered.

"A bird. Hawk, more specifically."

"She's not just a hawk," The Diamond protested. "She's a northern harrier! And she's my friend."

"Uh huh," Amethyst said. "You trying to call her with those whistles or something?"

The Diamond sunk his head into his shoulders. "I'm telling her to get away. I don't want her to get hurt."

"Why? What are you planning?" Pearl asked.

The Diamond shot her a sharp look. "I'm not planning anything. But you Crystal Gems tend to destroy everything around you."

"Destruction is what Homeworld does," Pearl responded. "We protect."

For a moment it looked like the Diamond was going to say something else, but seemed to reconsider it and instead simply looked down as they continued to walking.

Silence descended on them again. Its thick heaviness made Pearl feel just a little uncomfortable. Just as she was about to ask how much farther, just to fill the silence, the other Pearl began to sing. It started softly, almost a whisper, but grew in volume as she continued. Even Greg joined in after a bit, his raspy voice sounding surprisingly pleasant in harmony with the Pearl's.

 _I don't even know what did I do_

 _To deserve a beauty like you_

 _You've seen what the stars have to offer_

 _But here on Earth, your heart grows fonder_

 _You're a Sky Blue Goddess_

 _Bestowing a life of solace_

 _You came down here from your home in the stars_

 _Falling right into my arms_

 _You're my Sky Blue Goddess_

 _And our love is pure and endless_

 _You have brought so much color to my life_

 _If you'd like, would you be my wife?_

The song continued for several more verses, Pearl's expression tightening with each word. After all, she didn't need to be told who the song was about. She kept her eyes on Greg and the Diamond.

Thankfully, the pair's singing was cut off by a blue steeple poking over the crest of a hill.

They'd arrived.

Rose stopped in her tracks, Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet coming to a clean stop as she did. The Diamond, Greg, and the other Pearl stumbled a little with the suddenness. Pearl wondered how much of the Diamond's clumsiness was genuine, how much was an act.

"Wait here," Rose said over her shoulder. "I'm going to investigate."

"No, Rose," Pearl quickly protested. "I'll go. You stay here."

"Pearl…"

"No, Rose. I'm not budging on this," Pearl said firmly. "We don't know what's waiting for us in that Palanquin. It could be a trap."

"And so you're saying it's better you get hurt by the trap rather than me?" Rose asked.

"I'm saying," Pearl answered carefully, "that of the four of us, I'm the one who would most likely be able to spot any wayward traps."

"Pearl is very adept at it," Garnet said, and Pearl felt a wave of gratitude towards her.

Rose seemed to mull this point over for a moment before speaking, "Alright. But when you go, take Pearl with you." She nodded at the blue Pearl.

Pearl was taken aback by the suggestion, and the other Pearl seemed to be too.

"Why would I take her with me?" Pearl asked. "Couldn't that be… dangerous?" Rose shook her head. "I don't believe so. She can answer any questions you have about what you find." Her voice became lighter. "And, if as you suspect, there are any traps, she might feel it wise to enlighten you about them."

Pearl grimaced, but relented. "Alright, Rose." She dispelled her spear and held out her hand to Amethyst, who handed her the handle of the whip which restrained the other Pearl, exchanging it for the one holding Mr. Universe.

Once the handle of the whip had changed holders, the other Pearl began to squirm where she stood. "I… I cannot leave Steven's side."

"You're not really in a position to defy us," Garnet said.

The other Pearl seemed to shrink before their eyes. She looked down at the ground and shuffled her feet. "I… I can't leave his side…"

Pearl frowned at the other Pearl. She couldn't help but pity her. She had been cowed by Homeworld, beaten and brainwashed, and she most likely didn't even know it.

"He won't come to any harm." It was Rose who spoke, her voice filled with a familiar reassuring confidence. "I promise you that."

The other Pearl's lips trembled as she looked at Rose and then at The Diamond.

"I'll be okay, Pearl," The Diamond said. "Just… do what they say. It's the only way we can help Lapis."

"I'll be with him," Greg promised. Not that he'd actually be able to help if the Crystal Gems decided to move against their captive, but luckily for them, Rose Quartz was a Gem of her word.

The Pearl's eyes moved to the bubble that Garnet held and stayed there for a moment, before she nodded slowly. "Yes. Alright." She turned towards Pearl and bowed lightly. "When you are ready."

Pearl grimaced as she began walking past the group and up the hill. "Don't bow to me."

"Of course. I am sorry."

The two came to the top of the hill and the Palanquin was in complete view. It resembled the other three, the only major difference being, of course, its color.

As they began walking down towards it, Pearl said sarcastically, "I suppose there's no point in asking if there are any traps or security measures waiting inside?"

"No. Nothing of the kind," the other Pearl answered. "The isolated location was meant to serve as the only protective means."

Pearl didn't respond. They came to the Palanquin's entrance, covered as it was by two massive curtains. She threw one of the curtains aside and looked within. Everything seemed to be in place, following the traditional design, but it was so cluttered. A table with two chairs at it, a bed with a smattering of human toys constructed from fabric, a wardrobe, a dresser, a corner dedicated to pillows and a low sitting table and— _Are those pillows and blankets at the seat of the throne?_

"What is all this stuff?" Pearl asked.

"What Steven needs to live comfortably," the Pearl answered simply.

Pearl summoned her spear. She walked to the table, and prodded the objects covering it with the tip of her weapon. When there were no strange noises, no explosions, she came to expect the cans and boxes more closely. She recognized them as non-perishable food. "Are these for Greg?"

"No. They are for Steven."

Pearl shot her a look. "Gems don't eat."

"Yes. But Steven does."

Well. Garnet had said the Diamond had a meat body now. Presumably it required sustenance as all meat bodies did.

She set the box of nauseating looking cereal back on the table. "And I suppose you cook for him too, then?"

"To an extent," the other Pearl answered. "Most of the food here doesn't require much in the way of preparation. When Steven desires something fresher, we go into town. The food trucks are his favorite."

"Noted." Pearl slowly made her way around the Palanquin, taking in everything she could. There was a map of the planet Earth hung above the bed, marked with pins. Perhaps some method of noting potential colonization sites. The bed was neatly made, four stuffed animals sitting in a row on it, two anthropomorphized bears, a cat with an oversized head, and… a bird of sorts.

"Nari?" Pearl asked.

The other Pearl shook her head. "No. Though Steven got that one because it reminded him of her." The Pearl tilted her head. "I do not see the resemblance, however."

Next were the dresser and wardrobe, though there wasn't much to note. Just various pieces of clothes. After that was the throne. Pearl had to temporarily let go of her charge in order to jump to the seat of throne. Thankfully, she remained obediently still and made no trouble. Pearl had once offered this Gem freedom, a chance to join the rebellion. She hadn't taken it, but Pearl still felt no desire to harm her unless absolutely necessary.

"I'm surprised she let you put all these blankets and pillows up here," Pearl said as she kicked through it all.

"It was Steven's idea," the Pearl said. "He enjoys it when I read stories to him."

Pearl moaned in disgust. Cooking, dressing, tidying up after, and _reading_ to her? This poor Pearl probably had no idea how bad she had it. Such a sad state of affairs.

Pushing a blanket away, Pearl found the large handprint that was the Palanquin's control. She pressed her hand to it, hoping she could steer the vehicle to the Warp Pad, but nothing happened.

"You cannot move it," said the other Pearl. "It has been locked to Blue Diamond's gem signature."

In response, Pearl made a frustrated little grunt. Possibly she could force the Diamond to move the Palanquin for them, but she did not want him having control of such a device and attempting an escape.

Pearl jumped back down and picked back up the whips handle and led the other Pearl to the last point of interest.

The pillow corner.

And, sure enough, there were pillows scattered all around a low standing table, on which was a binder and a few loose sheets of paper. But more interesting then that were the pictures. All over the corner were various different photographs. Some looked relatively old, and showed Blue Diamond— in her proper form, tall and imposing. Most showed the Diamond in her current form, some had Greg and a number had the other Pearl. And one in particular had The Diamond, the Pearl, and the Lapis Lazuli in it. The Pearl's arm was outstretched out of frame. She must have been holding the camera. All three of them were smiling brightly and The Diamond even had an arm around either of them, drawing them close.

"Please don't touch the pictures," the other Pearl said softly. "Please."

Pearl hesitated, before rising back to her full standing height. "You know," she began, "while I'm not sure what's going to happen specifically, we do have the Diamond captured."

The other Pearl said nothing.

"So, you don't have to live like this anymore," Pearl continued. "Living alone in this Palanquin with her, I mean. You don't need to fear any punishment. You can come with us, live free at the Temple. You don't have to be under the Diamond's thumb anymore."

"I am not. My Diamond has not been here for almost thirteen years now," the other Pearl said.

Pearl raised an eyebrow. "Then what about… _him_." She pointed at one of the pictures.

"That is Steven."

"And he has a Diamond gem."

"Yes."

"So he's a Diamond."

"No. He is Steven."

Pearl shook her head, beginning to get frustrated. "How can you just say that? You admit he has a Diamond gem. How is he not a Diamond?"

"He does not share any of the memories or experiences of My Diamond. He is his own person," the other Pearl said.

"'Steven'."

"Yes."

Pearl scoffed. "Incredible. He has you completely wrapped around his thumb and you don't even see it."

"You claim to believe in freedom," the other Pearl said, a sudden edge to her voice. "Then allow me to live my life as I see fit, here with Steven and Lapis."

Pearl was about to protest, to say how deluded and confused and hopeless the other Pearl was…

But she didn't. There would be no point. They had reached an impasse. And it seemed like this Pearl might be a truly lost cause.

It was such a pathetically sad picture.

Pearl tugged on the rope as she headed for the Palanquin's exit. "Come on," she said. "Let's go meet up with the others. And return you to your precious Steven."

"Thank you," the other Pearl said, completely sincerely.

Pearl grimaced and bit her tongue, but otherwise said nothing else.

* * *

The Crystal Gems were not going to let Steven go.

Pearl had known that, of course, from the moment she'd taken the blow for the fusion's gauntlets. Known that they would take him prisoner. Even thought, perhaps, that they would shatter him, just as they had done to Pink Diamond so long ago.

They hadn't. But that did little to reassure her.

The Crystal Gems released Lapis Lazuli. She spun around, furious, when she formed, when she saw where she was and realized what had happened. But there was nothing she could do. The nearest river was a five minute walk away, and the air wasn't even particularly humid. Without water, Lapis was weaponless.

The whip tied around Pearl vanished. The Amethyst had let her go. A weaponless Pearl was no threat either.

"You're free," Rose Quartz said. "Go well."

"I will stay with my Steven," said Pearl.

"No!" Steven said. "No, Pearl, you gotta go."

All the Crystal Gem eyes were on her. Pearl didn't argue the point further. It was a direct order. And besides, there was little she could do to assist Steven while in custody.

Greg would stay with him, though. For that, Pearl was immensely grateful. Someone would be watching over Steven, at least.

Before the Crystal Gems went away, Pearl did make one simple request: that he could bring a bag of supplies with him. The rebels were wary, of course, expecting weapons or some other danger.

But Pearl was insistent, and Greg and Lapis backed her up. Eventually, the Crystal Gems related, watching over Pearl's shoulders as she stuffed a backpack until it almost burst at the seams. Two changes of clothes, with many pairs of underwear. A water bottle. Two apples and several granola bars. His drawing pad and pencil case. His favorite toy.

Hopefully it would offer a little comfort.

"One last thing," Pearl said, as she handed the fusion the backpack to carry.

"That was your last thing," said Amethyst.

Rose Quartz still let Pearl speak.

"Let me say goodbye."

A pause.

"Very well," said Rose Quartz.

Pearl went to Steven. His eyes shone with unshed tears, but his chin was held out in determination. Good. She bent down on her knees, and wrapped Steven in a tight hug.

In his ear, she whispered the advice all Pearls knew. "Do not let them see how much they hurt you."

They parted and Steven nodded.

Pearl nodded back at him

Steven still looked brave and determined, but the tears had begun now. Pearl wanted to wipe them away with some of the tissue she kept in her gem, but before she could, Steven was taken away, led by the whip that held him away from the Palanquin, from Lapis, from Pearl.

Lapis stood there in stunned silence, her mouth moving and quivering trying to form words, but seemingly coming up short every time. Pearl wanted to put a reassuring hand on Lapis's shoulder, to tell her it would be alright, that Steven would be fine.

But it would be improper for a Pearl to lie.

Instead, Pearl folded her hands in front of her and hoped, in a barely audible whisper:

" _Please be safe, my Steven_."

She felt the tears begin to sting her own eyes as she pushed her hair away to wipe her eyes.

" _Please…_ "

oOoOo

 **Authors' Note:** The song 'Sky Blue Goddess' was written by our wonderful friend and editor AiramCG.


	11. Prisoner

**Chapter Eleven: Prisoner**

Lapis had started pacing around the Palanquin shortly after the Crystal Gems had left with Steven and a day later still hadn't stopped. She traced her path around the Palanquin, trying to avoid things that reminded her of Steven, but failing because _everything_ reminded her of him.

She tugged at her hair, frustrated at the powerlessness she felt. Her gem was healed, she had her powers back in full. But that hadn't been enough to help Steven in the end. The person who had freed her from her prison.

Lapis closed her eyes tightly shut, biting back the tears.

"Lapis, please. Try to calm yourself."

Lapis shot a sharp look at Pearl. " _Calm_ _myself_? How can you say that?" She resumed pacing. "We don't know what they're doing to him, or even if we're even see him again!"

"Yes, I know."

"They could be doing terrible experiments to him! Or just cracking his gem in half!"

"Yes, I know."

"They could be torturing him, trying to get what information they can out of him about Homeworld or the Diamonds!"

"Yes, I know."

"Than why aren't you more concerned!?" Lapis was finally screaming. "I thought you _cared_ about Steven!"

Pearl turned so fast, it actually caught Lapis by surprise. "I care about Steven more than _anything_ in the universe."

"You're not _acting_ like it," Lapis shot back. "We should be doing something! Their base is by the ocean, right? Than let's go there and I can flood them out."

Pearl tilted her head at Lapis. "I see. And how do you propose you do that without harming Steven?"

Lapis blinked.

"His body is human," Pearl explained. "It requires oxygen. Submerge him in water, and he will drown. Unless you have some way to prevent that."

Lapis Lazuli stared at her, huffed, but otherwise gave no response.

"Exactly," Pearl responded. "We go in too strong, we could kill him. Go in too weak, and the Crystal Gems will do it for us, rather than risk letting a Diamond go free."

"So what? We just abandon him?"

"No. We _plan_."

Lapis grimaced and frowned. "Fine. Then I'm going to go do some thinking." She summoned her wings and began towards the door. "Might as well get some use out of these…"

"Lapis."

Lapis didn't even turn around. "I'm not going to Beach City. Just going to fly around the countryside."

"That's not what I meant," said Pearl. Lapis stopped and turned around to face her again, who suddenly seemed much more unsure of herself. She looked away and a faint blush seemed to appear on her cheeks. "You will be back?" she asked.

Lapis nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'll be back."

Pearl nodded back at her. "Alright. Take as much time as you need, Lapis. I'll… I'll be here when you return."

"I know, Pearl," Lapis responded.

She than pushed through the curtains of the Palanquin and took to the skies, trying her best to clear her mind.

And to think.

* * *

In the days immediately following the aftermath of the War, the remaining Crystal Gems had built a cage.

Rose had helped as much as she could, as had Garnet, but the majority of the construction had been Pearl. Scavenged from the remains of the same metal Bismuth had once used to forge Rose's sword, and supplemented with regular steel, it had been built large enough to contain a Quartz's corrupted form. The cage's bars had generated a magical field designed to reflect and contain any energy attacks.

They'd kept a Zircon in there, at first. She'd been one of the main communications officers in the rebellion. Rose Quartz had known few Gems as sharp as her. No one else could decode messages as quickly, or perform mathematics so effortlessly, or prepare information briefings so efficiently. Such intelligence couldn't have just been snuffed out, they'd all been sure. Whatever the Diamonds had done to her, Zircon was still in there. They just had to bring her out.

They'd kept Zircon in that cage for years and years. The Crystal Gems would try to talk to her, but she'd just growl in response. Growl or hiss or slash or shoot energy beams, which had reflected back and hit her instead. Then she'd cower and whimper. Nothing her old friends did or said seemed to spark any of her memories.

One was a small sample size. The approach hadn't helped Zircon, but maybe it would work on someone else.

So they'd tried it on a Morganite. On a Topaz. On an Emerald. On a Ruby. On a Glass.

It hadn't helped any of them.

Eventually all of them— even Rose— had to admit, it was hopeless. And it _hurt_ , seeing these twisted reflections of their old friends and comrades. Old friends and comrades who couldn't remember themselves, but were nonetheless still afraid, still in pain.

It was a mercy to keep them bubbled.

They'd kept that cage. For thousands of years it had been left, buried and forgotten, in the depths of Amethyst's room. Amethyst had no trouble finding it. The device still worked perfectly.

 _There is something fitting_ , Rose Quartz thought, _about Blue Diamond being kept prisoner in a cell designed to hold the monsters she herself helped create._

 _Or it would be_ , Rose thought, _if that is actually Blue Diamond._

She was seriously having doubts.

Rose Quartz paced around the pool of lava in the Burning Room, her body's frantic attempt to keep up with her mind.

She glanced at Garnet. "Still no visions of the Pearl and Lapis contacting Homeworld?"

"None," said Garnet.

Rose nodded, and looked at Amethyst. "And the Galaxy Warp…?"

"All still down. I like, triple checked," Amethyst replied excitedly.

"Good, good," Rose said, absently.

Amethyst practically vibrated at the praise. She knew how serious the situation was, and was doing her best to act accordingly, but Rose could tell she was excited by the whole thing. How couldn't she be? She'd spent her whole life hearing stories about the rebellion, but had never actually participated. This was the closest she'd ever gotten to a proper war meeting.

Rose hoped she'd never get any closer.

Pearl wasn't present for the meeting. She was outside the Temple proper, standing guard on their Diamond captive and Mr. Universe. Rose wanted her opinion on things, but that would have to wait. They couldn't be certain how well the cage would stand up to a Diamond's powers, and if Amethyst got struck by Blue Diamond's emotional manipulation, her inexperience might make her very vulnerable. If something went wrong, Pearl would have a better chance of standing her own.

"So," Rose said, at length. "What do you think of him?"

"I think he's _small_ ," said Amethyst. "He doesn't _look_ like any pictures of the Diamonds you showed me. He just looks like a human kid."

"Humans think _you_ look like a human kid," pointed out Garnet.

Amethyst shrugged. "Fair."

"It's possible to create quite elaborate organic structures using shape shifting," said Rose. "We could be looking at that."

"I don't think so," said Garnet.

"Me neither," said Amethyst. "This doesn't feel like shape-shifting, y'know? I'm not even sure if _I_ could make blood."

Amethyst's expression turned thoughtful at that, and despite everything, Rose smiled. She suspected Amethyst would be trying that out, very soon.

Rose was glad of her friends' insights. Garnet so far was the only one of them who'd had any direct experience with "Steven Universe's" odd anatomy, and Amethyst was, quite frankly, the most talented shapeshifter Rose had ever met. She would know the limits of the power better than anyone. "If you succeed in making blood, do tell me. Perhaps try to see how completely you can mimic his physical form."

Amethyst grinned, showing sharp teeth. "Will do."

"But first, I have another mission for you."

Amethyst's eyes went wide. "What?"

"We still don't know how culpable Mr. Universe is. I need you to go through his things— his van, his car wash, his storage locker. See if he has any other artifacts of Gem origin in his possession, or any evidence of communication with the Diamond and his entourage."

Amethyst stood up very straight, and snapped a human salute. "Yes ma'am!"

A door appeared in the Temple wall, and Amethyst rushed out of it. Rose followed, waving for Garnet to follow.

Outside, sitting just past the warp pad, was the cage. It was large enough to fill almost the entire cave. Inside it was the bearer of the blue diamond gem, Steven Universe. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, next to the human who claimed to be his father. The two of them were holding hands through the cage bars, though Steven Universe quickly snatched the hand away when he noticed their arrival.

Rose Quartz took a moment to look him over once more. He truly did resemble a human child, with his small stature and pudgy body. He was about a head taller than Amethyst, and a bit slimmer than her. At first glance, his skin was a tan very akin to Mr. Universe's, except there was an almost blue-grey undertone to it, which made him appear faintly ill. His hair was wispy, came down to his ears, and was brown in color. Rose found that particularly odd. Neither of his purported parents had brown hair— Blue Diamond's was white, Mr. Universe's was grey. But then, many humans' hair chaged shades as they aged, didn't they?

But there were echoes of Blue Diamond's physical form in him, though too subtle to immediately notice. His eyes were the same as Blue Diamond's, wide and drooping, though the skin around them was red, as if he'd been trying very hard not to cry. His nose was long and striking, his cheeks angular, his chin sharp.

If Blue Diamond was shapeshifting to fool them, wouldn't she have striven to make her disguise as unlike herself as possible? And if this was shapeshifting, surely she could not have changed the colour of her hair or skin.

Rose tore her gaze away to look at Mr. Universe. The human would not meet her in the eyes.

Next she looked to Pearl, who was standing a short distance from cage, back straight, spear in hand. While she was clearly striving to keep a professional air, Pearl couldn't entirely hide the air of disgust that hung about her. It faded for a moment when she exchanged a look with Rose, nodding to indicate there had been no trouble.

Rose nodded back. "Garnet and I are going to the Fountain," she announced, in case there was trouble and Pearl needed to find them.

It was only a short warp to the fountain, and once they arrived, the complex and its surrounding gardens looked much as it always had— albeit far messier than usual. There were cracks in some of the walls and archways, and the tear level in the basins was much lower than usual. Something in Rose clenched at the sight of it, but it was no concern. She could replenish the supply easily enough. Perhaps this was even a sign she should make a backup cache in another location, just in case.

The two of them worked their way systematically around the garden, Garnet explaining how the confrontation had occurred in detail. When they arrived at the place where she had destroyed the Pearl's physical form, there were three things lying on the ground:

The first was a fish. It had gone slightly rancid, and was surrounded by a small cloud of flies.

Second was a simple silver hilt. When one held it properly, it produced a blade of bright blue light.

Not far away was the third object, small and circular. A bracelet, in fact, constructed from elastic and simple plastic beads.

"The Pearl was wearing it," Garnet said.

"Odd," said Rose Quartz. But then, this whole thing was odd. She read the inscription on the beads. "'I heart EC'. What does that mean?"

Garnet shrugged.

Rose considered for a moment, and slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. It seemed harmless. Perhaps she could return it to the Pearl.

Gems didn't wear physical clothes, Homeworld Gems especially. But then, Homeworld Gems didn't have Palanquins filled with human food, clothing and entertainment. Homeworld Gems didn't take on the physical form of a human child, and call themselves by human names. Homeworld Gems didn't claim to have parents.

Diamonds didn't go around on abandoned planets practically undefended. Diamonds didn't let themselves get defeated. Diamonds didn't trade themselves in for their 'underlings'. Diamonds didn't hug their Pearls like they actually loved them.

But then, apparently, one did.

A Gem-Human hybrid. On the surface, it sounded ludicrous, but…

Raising a hand up, a few brambles from nearby bush reached out to Rose, twining around her fingers.

The boundary between organic and Gem life was thinner than one might assume. Over the millennia, she'd seen many examples. Her own sentient plants. The moss that grew near the Temple. Crystal shrimp. Magical lizards. Her dear lion, imbued with her own life force. If all these things could be affected by alien power, why not humans as well?

Theoretically, it was quite sound. The only question was— why a _Diamond_?

Rose shook her head, and the brambles around her fingers retreated.

"Garnet," she started, "do you think this is a trick?"

"If it is," Garnet said, "I do not see what Blue Diamond gains from it."

Rose Quartz didn't either.

She had another question to ask, as well. "Garnet— if you knew Blue Diamond was coming here, why didn't you tell us? We could have helped you at the Fountain."

Garnet looked at her, touching her visor briefly. "In some futures, I requested your help. In most, you ignored my warning."

"Oh," said Rose, as understanding dawned. "Because of… Mr. Universe…?"

"It seemed like he would be a likely culprit, yes. You didn't want to hear that."

"Oh dear. Garnet. I'm sorry." Rose rubbed her face, weary and hurt. She liked Mr. Universe. She had thought she could trust him. "I suppose I owe Pearl an apology as well, don't I?"

"Yes," agreed Garnet.

They walked in silence back to the warp pad. Garnet paused. "I didn't See Blue Diamond— or Steven— however."

"You didn't?"

"No. That was a complete surprise to me. Even now, she— _he_ remains a blind spot in my vision. He's too strange. Too unpredictable."

"Hmm," said Rose Quartz, for lack of anything else to say.

They had a lot to think about.

* * *

"Whatchu drawing there, Shtoo-ball?" Greg asked, even though it was fairly plain even to him what Steven was drawing.

"Mom," Steven answered, not taking his eyes off his sketchpad. "Sitting on her throne in the Palanquin."

Greg nodded silently as he watched Steven work his artistic magic. He'd been trying to nurture Steven's creativity for most of his childhood... mostly by trying to find an instrument he'd like playing, at least early on. But the ukulele he'd got the boy had just ended up gathering dust in a corner, as had any other musical instrument Greg introduced to him. Steven loved listening to music, but seemed mostly uninterested in making it.

So while that had _stung_ , Greg had still done everything he could to support Steven when he'd found his own creative outlet. And Greg had to admit, the boy had a knack for it. Even his simple sketch of Blue managed to capture her so well— her majestic poise, her elegant figure, her piercing eyes...

Still… Given the current situation, drawing Blue probably wasn't the best idea.

Greg sighed and Steven perked up from his drawing. "Dad? Is something wrong?"

Greg began to answer, but was interrupted by a yawn, no doubt the result of being basically awake for over twenty-four hours. "Nah, I'm good, bud," he answered, doing his best to stifle the weary yawn.

"You don't have to stay here," Steven said, for probably the twentieth time. "You can go back to the van and get some sleep."

"I'm okay, Steven," Greg said, chuckling in a very forced way. "After all, if I go, who'll keep you company?" Greg flicked his eyes over to the other Pearl, who stood just a few feet away, her back facing them, but no doubt listening closely to everything they said.

Steven pursed his lips, but said nothing in return. Instead he refocused on his drawing. He straightened the photograph of Blue that was clipped to the corner of the page.

Greg smiled, his eyes lingering on the photo. Maybe it wasn't wise to discuss this here, but...

"Ya know, I still remember when I took that picture of Blue."

Steven looked up from his drawing again. "You do?"

Greg nodded. "It was actually just a few days before we… er, well…" He awkwardly cleared his throat. "Before we 'tried' for you."

Greg could feel his face blushing as Steven snickered behind his hand at his father's embarrassment. And perhaps he imagined it, but Greg could have sworn he heard the other Pearl groan.

"You see, Steven," Greg continued, doing his best to latch down on his embarrassment, "Blue was still kind of unsure about, ya know, pregnancy and stuff. So when I told her that she would, uh... probably gain a lot of weight while carrying you, she didn't really know what to expect. So she wanted me to take a picture of her before she was pregnant so she could compare it to when she was pregnant with you."

"Ohh," Steven cooed, diamonds in his eyes. "And what did she think?"

Greg laughed. "Let's just say she was unimpressed with the results." He smiled down at his son, resisting the urge to tousle his hair. "Still. Even at the height of her pregnancy woes, she always thought it was worth it to have you."

Steven smiled back at him and had begun to say something, only for the other Pearl to rudely cut him off. "Oh _please_ , if you truly expect me to believe that Blue Diamond did _any_ of that…"

Greg frowned at her, but Steven was the one who actually spoke: "You never met Mom. So what do you know?"

"If your story is to be believed, then neither did you." Other Pearl whipped around and leveled a sharp gaze at Steven. He didn't flinch from it at all. "I know more about your ' _mother_ ' than either of you two do. I experienced first hand what she was capable of."

"Mom was one of the best Gems ever!" Steven shot back. "You're all just jealous that you're not as great as she was!"

Other Pearl looked like she had been physically assaulted by Steven's words. " _Jealous_!?"

"Yeah! Jealous! You're the worst Pearl ever and you know it so you ran away!"

"How _dare_ you, you little—"

"Enough." The three of them turned their attention towards the Temple door and saw Rose Quartz striding out towards them. Greg gulped. It was very difficult to see any remains of the goofy, flirty, airy persona she had so often shown around him. She turned her gaze, one by one, onto Greg, Pearl, and Steven. "If we are going to be… living together, we must attempt to be civil."

Steven opened his mouth to say something, but Greg quickly reached out and squeezed his knee in warning.

Other Pearl, however, had no such restraint. " _Civil?_ How can you expect me to be _civil_ , Rose?" she spat. "He was— he was the one who started it."

Something like sympathy softened Rose's face for a moment, but then she shifted her gaze to Greg.

"Mr. Universe, did Steven speak to Pearl first? Or did Pearl talk to _him_ first?"

Greg blinked nervously. "Um, well… Steven and I were talking and then Pearl started talking to us, so…"

Rose sighed.

The Pearl had drawn herself very tall. "You're not actually going to take _his_ word over mine, are you?"

Rose Quartz seemed to consider her words carefully before she spoke. "I don't believe that anything will be accomplished by pointing fingers. Mr. Universe is our guest, and although Steven Universe is our prisoner, we will not treat him poorly. That means we shall avoid insults and… what did Amethyst call it? Snart?"

"...snark?" suggested Steven, hesitantly.

Rose nodded. "Snark."

Other Pearl's brow grew so heavy, Greg idly wondered if she could actually crack her own gem that way.

"Fine," she said resentfully, before pointing to Steven. "But tell _him_ not to talk about things he knows nothing about."

"Fair enough. Steven Universe," Rose looked over at him. "I expect you to treat us all with respect and courtesy."

"Of course," Greg said quickly.

Steven crossed his arms, huffing, and this time Greg's hand wasn't there to hold him back. " _She_ was the one insulting Mom."

"I think," Rose Quartz said, slowly, as if fighting to keep her personal opinions from showing, "it would be best if we all refrained from talking about Blue Diamond at present."

Steven slowly nodded at her. "Okay. Fine."

Rose tipped her head at him. "Thank you."

Greg let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

She walked closer to them, examining Greg quite closely. "Mr. Universe, you look rather tired. Perhaps you should go try and get some sleep."

"I'm fine," Greg repeated. "Need to stay with Steven, after all."

Rose gave him a small smile. "He will be fine for a while without you. I promise. I'll be here keeping watch with Pearl."

This was not at all the reassurance Rose Quartz seemed to think it was.

That said, they hadn't tried to kill Steven. If they hadn't done it yet, it seemed unlikely they'd change their minds. As long as Steven didn't say something that upset them.

And, well... All Steven had was some snacks. He needed to eat— and as Greg's stomach growled, he remembered that so did he. He could make a quick run into town, grab some food, blankets and pillows...

Greg hesitated, looking back at Steven, who raised his eyebrows at him but otherwise stayed silent. Finally, Greg sighed, relenting.

"Alright. I'm going to find stuff to make us more comfortable." Greg pulled his hand out from the cage and got up from where he had been sitting, his knees popping uncomfortably as he did. "I should only be gone an hour, bud. Tops."

"It's alright, Dad. Take as long as you need," Steven replied. "I'll uh… I'll still be here when you get back."

Greg laughed, a bittersweet note in his voice. "Yeah, I guess you will be." He sighed again. "I'll be back in a bit, Shtoo-ball."

"'kay. Bye Dad."

Steven waved and Greg waved back, doing so until he rounded the corner of the cliff and the Temple was out of sight.

Greg immediately felt his shoulders slump as he trudged back to the carwash and to the van, taking all his effort to not start crying then and there.

How were they gonna get out of this?


	12. Adjustments

**Chapter Twelve: Adjustments**

Pearl had forgotten how utterly boring standing guard was.

It reminded her, in some ways, of her duties back when she had served Homeworld. Long, monotonous cycles of standing at attention, her expression never faltering, never letting anyone see how her mind wandered.

In other ways, it was completely different. This was important. Here, she stood as a free Gem, standing against a tyrant, weapon in hand. Here, she could not allow her mind to wander: her entire focus was on the Diamond, searching for any signs of deceit or danger.

And of course, she wasn't alone. She had Rose at her side.

As in all things, Rose had a rather unorthodox approach to guard duty. Rather, she sat down, stretching casually before resting her back against the cave wall.

The little Diamond stared at them.

Pearl stared back at the little Diamond.

Rose Quartz stared at her own fingers, as if inspecting them for dirt. Out of the corner of her eye, Pearl noticed something around Rose's wrist.

The little Diamond noticed too.

"Hey!" he cried out. "That's Pearl's bracelet!"

"No it's not," said Pearl.

"Not _you_ Pearl," Steven said. " _My_ Pearl."

Pearl was very proud of the self-restraint she exhibited just then, tightening her grip on her spear and trying not to think about how much she'd like to use it.

Rose gave Pearl the briefest of glances, but otherwise, pretended not to notice the comment. "Ah, yes," she said, voice light, "we found it at the Fountain. It must have fallen off."

"Give it back to her!" the Diamond demanded.

"Of course," said Rose. "Just wanted to make sure I knew who it belonged to."

"It's Pearl's. She got it in Empire City and you'd better give it back to her or—"

He had no way of finishing that sentence, and the Diamond knew it.

Rose smiled as if she hadn't basically just been threatened, and began to stand up. "Of course. I'll take it to her right away."

"Wait," Pearl said, falling into the familiar routine. "We promised to let the Pearl and the Lapis go free. If we go to their territory, that might be seen as violation of our truce."

Rose put a hand to her mouth. "My, do you think so?"

"We might be attacked," said Pearl.

"Oh no. I wouldn't want to scare her…" said Rose.

The Diamond had stood up in the cage. "Look! Wait," he said, and Pearl waited, listening very carefully to what he had to say. "Just— just leave it near the warp pad by the Palanquin, okay?"

Pearl blinked. "What?"

"Pearl's sure to use the warp pad eventually. If you put the bracelet there, she'll be bound to see it."

Rose nodded, then hesitated. "Oh, dear. What if some animal takes it?"

The Diamond bit his lip. "You could… put it under a rock. And, um, wait— let me write a message, so she'll see it and know it's from me?"

"I don't think we should allow for communication—" Pearl began.

The Diamond glared at her. "You can read my message over, okay?"

He grabbed at his human note book, wrote something in it, then tore out the page. He poked it through the energy field of the cage. Pearl grabbed the page carefully by the corner, and read it.

 _Hi Pearl. The Crystal Gems have returned your bracelet. I'm doing okay. Love you, and Lapis too._

 _— Steven_

Pearl scanned the words for any sign of code. None immediately jumped out at her, but she knew how subtle the Diamonds could be in this regard.

She was finishing her inspection when the Temple door opened and Garnet stepped out. She said, "I'll take next watch."

"Wonderful timing," said Rose Quartz. Garnet's timing was _always_ wonderful. She settled into position, allowing Rose and Pearl to go to the warp pad. Neither of them spoke in the duration of the warp. When the light of the warp stream dissipated, Pearl was not surprised to see they hadn't arrived at the forest where Blue Diamond's Palanquin was hidden, but rather they were in a familiar battlefield strewn with strawberries.

Here, they would be free to talk.

"Well," said Rose, slipping the bracelet off of her hand and considering it. "That went well."

"I'll admit… he appears to be treating the Pearl with more civility than I expected." Pearl banished her spear, and looked again at the message she still held in her hands. _Love you_ , it said. Was it a lie? A code? "But I'm still not convinced."

It was an old routine they'd used during the rebellion, or a variation of it. As the Crystal Gem message had spread, their numbers had began to swell. While new recruits were welcomed, they also brought risk. It would have been very easy for Homeworld to slip spies among their ranks, something they'd attempted multiple times. There had been systems in place to minimize the chances of betrayal, and one of those systems had been covert ways of testing recruits' reactions. Would they be kind to all Gems, regardless of caste? Would they share resources? Would they stand up for others?

And the Diamond who called himself Steven Universe had done very well. He hadn't tried to take the Pearl's bracelet for himself. He had insisted the Crystal Gems return it to its rightful owner. He had, apparently, even written a letter to reassure the Pearl.

But still. This whole setup was suspicious.

"I know," Rose said, when Pearl voiced her concerns. "But… I am beginning to believe Steven Universe might be genuine. If he really was Blue Diamond, she could have destroyed us so easily. I can't see why he would allow us to lock him up, unless what he's saying is true." Rose looked out across the field, weapons of a brutal battle still lying where they had fallen five thousand years ago. "Just… just think, Pearl. This could be… something entirely new. A chance to fix the mistakes of the past. To create something better."

The hope in Rose's voice… it was inspiring, alluring. The image it conjured was beautiful.

But when Pearl stared across the battlefield, for a moment, all she could see were the Gems who'd been shattered there. All she could hear were their screams as they'd transformed.

The risk was too great.

"A few shows of kindness don't mean anything," Pearl said. "He was still keeping a Pearl enslaved. That Lapis Lazuli as well, most likely. He attacked Garnet, and believes the same shale about fusions as all of Homeworld. And I don't want to _hear_ what he has to say about Amethyst. Perhaps he is not Blue Diamond, but he is still _a_ Diamond."

Rose sighed. "Perhaps," she said. "We'll need to keep watching." Rose tore her gaze away from the horizon, and turned her eyes on Pearl. "But… there's something else I want to talk about."

"Yes?" said Pearl.

"I'm sorry."

Pearl blinked. "Pardon?"

"I'm sorry." Rose laid her hands, warm and heavy, on Pearl's shoulder. "You tried to warn me about Mr. Universe. I didn't listen. And I…" Rose shook her head, causing a cascade of pink curls to tumble around them both. She seemed to be at a loss for words. "And I should have… I was… I'm _sorry_."

Victory flared in Pearl's core, hot and fierce.

 _I told you so._ The words would have felt so **good** to say. But Pearl saw the unshed tears shining in Rose's eyes, and held back. Instead, she leaned into Rose, hugging her tightly, offering what comfort she could.

The stayed like that for a long time. The two of them, together.

Then Rose said, "I'll need to be more careful, next time."

 _Next time?_

"Rose—" Pearl began, as her lover pulled out of the embrace and started towards the warp pad.

"Yes?" said Rose.

"Nothing," said Pearl, looking away.

Rose tilted her head in mild confusion, then smiled. "Well. Let's go, then. We have a bracelet to return."

* * *

Steven shifted where he sat as his stomach growled in hunger. He glanced at the fusion, Garnet, who made no indication that they heard his restless belly.

Steven turned his attention back to his drawing. It was starting to really come together now. The basic sketch was done and now he was adding finer details. He didn't have his outlining pen, unfortunately, so he was having to make do with what few tools he did have.

He was working on the shading of Mom's robe when his stomach rumbled again. He frowned as he put his pad and pencil to the side. He looked over at the fusion.

"Hey. When is Dad getting back with dinner?" he asked.

Garnet was silent for a moment before answering simply, "When he gets back."

Steven grimaced at her. "You're supposed to have future vision. Can't you see when he'll get back?"

"Yes."

"And? When will he?"

"When he returns."

Steven huffed and was about to say something angrier to the fusion when Dad rounded the Temple's corner, one hand carrying a heavy-looking duffle bag, a wonderful smelling pizza box balanced in his other.

Steven stood up and ran over to the far side of the cage. "Dad! You're back!"

"Course I am," Dad responded. "Took a bit longer than I thought it would. Pizza place lost my order so they had redo it while I waited."

Normally, Steven would probably be a bit annoyed by this, but he was _so_ hungry now and all he wanted to do was take the largest bite out of that pizza that he could.

"I… kinda forgot what you said you wanted on it originally, bud. So I just got mushroom and onion."

Dad sat the pizza down on the floor next to the cage and opened the lid, revealing what just then looked to be the most beautiful, cheesy, greasy pizza in existence. Steven had never been so glad to see food in his whole life.

"It looks so good…" Steven said, licking his lips.

Dad chuckled. "Yeah. It's no Empire City, but Fish Stew does good work." He peeled a piece of the pizza off the box and carefully handed it to Steven through the bars of his cell. Steven took it, mindful not to touch the cage's bars, and with barely a moment's hesitation, devoured it, licking his fingers clean after he did.

"Easy, bud," Dad said as he prepared another slice. "Don't want to make yourself sick or anything."

"I won't be cleaning that up," Garnet intoned.

Steven shot them a look, but Dad was right. No need to make himself sick. Especially not in front of the rebels. Before the next slice, Dad handed him a water bottle from the duffle bag, a large chunk of ice in the center keeping it cool. Steven unscrewed the cap and drank a little, followed by drinking a _lot_. Because of his more pressing hunger, Steven hadn't realized how thirsty he had been.

Dinner went uneventfully after that. Steven ate three more slices of pizza and drained the water bottle, swallowing a pain pill Dad had brought with it. Satisfied, Steven leaned back where he sat.

"Pretty good, huh?" Dad asked as he closed the pizza box lid.

"Yeah, pretty good," Steven agreed. "Thanks, Dad."

"Hey, no problem. That's what Dads are for, right?" Dad's tone was one of forced upbeatness and it contrasted uncomfortably with the grim atmosphere around them.

Still, Steven had to go along. After all, Pearl's words still rung in his ears:

 _"Never let them see how much they hurt you."_

"Man, it's getting late," Dad said. Steven wasn't exactly sure how late it was, but he was inclined to agree. The sun had fully set awhile ago and the only light in the Temple's cave came from a camping lamp Dad had brought, as well as the dim pink glow from the cage's bars.

"You should probably be getting to bed," Dad said. Steven was going to protest, as he often did around bedtime, but a powerful yawn welled up inside of him and it took all his strength not to let it out.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Steven said. "It's been a long day."

"Yeah…" Dad responded, his eyes quickly darting over to Garnet and back again. "Why don't we get ready?"

Dad had been really smart and picked up some extra things for him when he'd grabbed food, with pillows, blankets and a sleeping bag. There was only one of the latter, clearly sized for a child; when Steven asked Dad where he was gonna sleep he just waved the concern off. Steven bit his lip, but didn't want to make a fuss. So he nodded, got up, and dragged the sleeping stuff into the corner of the cell.

That was when he suddenly noticed something.

He had to pee. _Badly_.

He dropped his things, as he saw Dad was readying his own blankets. "Dad?" Steven tried to keep his voice down, even though he knew it only made him look suspicious. "Dad? I have to go to the bathroom."

Dad seemed to be taken a little off guard by this. "Oh! Right… Hey, Garnet." He looked over at the Gem, who shifted her gaze to him. "Steven has to… you know."

The said said nothing.

"Uh, take care of some business?"

Still silent.

"Answer a call of nature?"

Silence.

"I have to pee!" Steven blurted out.

"Ah. Okay." Garnet pushed off the side of the wall they'd been leaning against. "I can take you."

"Take me? Take me where?"

"To the ocean," Garnet answered plainly. "You can… answer your call there."

"The ocean?" Steven sputtered.

"Yeah, Garnet. Isn't that a little… harsh?" Dad asked. "I can take him to the car wash and he can use the bathroom there."

Garnet however shook their head. "You can't be wandering that far away from the Temple." She folded her arms across her chest. "It's either the ocean… or I can fetch a bucket."

Steven grimaced before sighing. "Fine. I'll take the ocean. Get a chance to stretch my legs at least…"

Garnet placed their hand on the top of the cell and all at once, the energy bars disappeared. Steven cautiously stepped past the cell's threshold, as if afraid that the bars would suddenly re-appear as he did, cutting through his body. Thankfully, they did not.

Steven was out of the cell and he looked at his dad, and then past him. The mouth of the cave was just there, the sound of the ocean echoing invitingly.

In an instant, Steven realized that he could just _run_. Grab Dad and just race out of there. He could be out of the Temple before the fusion even knew what was going on. Just run and run and _run_.

But… Steven knew what a bad idea that was. Even if they were fast enough, where would they go? The rebels knew where the Palanquin was now and no doubt that's where they would check first. Maybe they'd attack Pearl and Lapis again— and this time, they wouldn't let them go…

"Let's go." Garnet adjusted their glasses.

"Fine," Steven responded.

Dad got up to follow them, but Steven stopped him. "Um, that's alright, Dad. I can handle this."

"Oh. Um, okay, bud," Dad replied slowly, as he pointedly didn't look at Garnet. "If you're sure."

"Yeah, I am."

Garnet and Steven left the Temple's entrance and walked towards the ocean, small waves breaking against the shore. He stared at it dubiously. He was used to going in the woods, but somehow going into the water seemed completely different and immensely unappealing. Steven walked to the edge of the water and hesitated.

"Can you like, turn around while I go?"

Though it was next to impossible to tell, Steven was fairly certain that one of Garnet's eyebrows had just just shot up.

Steven felt his face redden in embarrassment. "I… I can't go if someone's watching me…"

The corners of Garnet's mouth tightened, before they nodded. "But you better not try anything."

They turned, turning their back to Steven.

"Not like I have much choice…" Steven mumbled to himself.

He fumbled with the fly and zipper of his jeans before finally being able to relieve himself. He sighed with well-earned relief. Finished, Steven zipped back up and simply said, "Done."

Without even looking at him, Garnet turned and began walking back towards the Temple, beckoning him to follow, like some kind of trained dog.

Steven grimaced and followed after them.

When they returned to the rebel base, Steven was hurried back into his cell. As soon as he crossed the threshold, it powered back on, bathing everything in a pink glow.

That wasn't going to make it any easier to sleep. But he needed to try. He knew if Pearl were here, she'd insist.

As he slid into his sleeping bag, pulling MC Bear Bear close, Steven smiled…

… before letting that smile fall right away.

He wished Pearl was here.

No, that wasn't true. He wished himself, Pearl, and Dad were back in the apartment. The Crystal Gems had been defeated so Dad never had to leave. It was just the three of them— and Lapis, couldn't forget her— just the four of them living in the apartment together. Cooking meals, cleaning up, singing songs, doing puzzles, playing video-games...

Like a family.

"You need a story, Schtoo-ball?" Dad asked.

Steven yawned, not bothering to try and hide it this time. "No, thanks Dad. I'm just—" Another yawn. "I'm just gonna go to sleep." He was tired, at least. Maybe he would get some sleep tonight.

"Alright, Steven… Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Dad."

They both lied down in their respective sleeping spaces and rolled over, Steven doing his best to face away from the glowing bars, even if it meant not seeing his dad.

He closed his eyes, but sleep was stubborn. Part of it was the ache through his entire body, which not even the painkillers could dull completely. Part of that was the never-ending glow from the cage, like the most irritating night-light in existence. But even burying deeper under the blankets to block it out did little to help. He guessed he shouldn't be surprised. He had warp lag. In Korea it was morning; and he'd just been adjusting to France's time, and there it had to be about noon. Despite the darkness outside, as far as his body was concerned, it was time to be awake.

But warp lag or not, his body was also exhausted. Steven felt sleep come for him gradually, slowly draping over him before he was finally engulfed.

Steven's dreams were wild, yet predictable that night. He dreamt of life at the Palanquin, of Pearl waking him up and the two of them heading to town for some breakfast. He dreamt of roaming the streets of Empire City with Dad; of walking through the mountains and showing Lapis all the landmarks, which morphed and twisted in the manner of dreams.

As he drifted, occasionally something would pull him back towards consciousness for a brief enough moment to remind him where he was, before pulling back down into the depths of sleep.

"Go find Rose," the fusion's voice was saying. "You don't need to be here."

" _Go where I want_."

At first Steven thought the voices were part of yet another dream, until he drifted close to awakeness, and he realized that truly was Garnet's voice. At first he thought the second speaker might have been Dad— but no, the voice was too low, too smooth—

Garnet grunted, "Go. Get."

" _Stop_ _pushing. I will steal your glasses again_."

Steven sat up, bleary eyed, and for a moment wondered if what he thought he was seeing was in fact what was actually happening.

Because it looked like the fusion was trying to push away a giant pink fur ball.

"What— Is that a… a lion?" Steven asked as he rubbed his eyes. There, not five feet away from where his Dad slept, was a cat, its back arched, its tail pricked, batting at the fusions with massive paws.

"It is," Garnet answered slowly. "He's Rose's."

" _Not anyone's_ ," the lion refuted. " _Rose is pride_."

"Don't growl at me," Garnet snapped at the Lion. It gave a small growl back.

"I know what you mean," Steven said to the lion. "Treating people like animals seems to be a _thing_ for them."

Garnet fixed him with a heavy glare, but before she could say anything, the lion broke in, " _I wondered why this cage was here_." He walked up to bars. His eyes shone amber in the light. He was close enough that Steven heard him sniff, could feel the warmth radiating off of him. " _You smell sort of like them. You a Gem_?"

"Sort of," Steven answered.

" _Hmph_." The lion gave a dismissive sniff. Just then, Dad let out a snore. He ears twitched a the noise, and turned to investigate.

"Don't eat him!" Steven squeaked.

" _Not hungry_." The animal sat down on its haunches and licked his paws, displaying its massive white teeth in the process. Steven couldn't tell if that was coincidental or a deliberate act of intimidation.

"Oh. Good," Steven said.

The fusion took a step forward. They said, "You are communicating with him."

Steven didn't bother replying with words, just nodded stiffly.

The lion was now grooming its hindlegs. He paused to ask Steven, " _Scared_?"

This didn't sound so much a threat as genuine curiosity.

" _Not really_ ," Steven answered honestly, through a yawn. The lion had been startling, but not scary, really. He reminded Steven of most other cats he'd met in life— a little prickly, but quite nice once you got to know them. Certainly nicer than the Crystal Gems. " _My name's Steven_ ," he told him. " _What's yours_?"

" _No name_ ," the lion said between licks.

Steven shook his head. He shouldn't have been surprised. "Can I give you one?"

The lion lashed his tail in what was probably the feline-version of a shrug. Finishing his grooming, he got to his feet, stepped over Dad, and began towards the exit. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. " _I hope they let you out of your cage, Gem cub_ ," said the unnamed lion. " _Let me know if they do. Would like proper conversation._ "

And without another word, Lion began sprinting away from the Temple, towards the ocean… and over the ocean. It was hard to tell from this distance, but it looked like the he was running _on top_ of the water.

Steven blinked sleepily, still not sure if what he saw was real or if he was dreaming. "I didn't know Rose Quartz had a Lion."

"You don't worry about him," Garnet spoke sharply. "He's Rose's responsibility." She settled back into her spot and nodded curtly at him. "Go back to sleep."

Steven didn't have the energy to put up any kind of an argument. So he slid back into his sleeping bag, his mind still idly going over the fact that a giant, talking pink Lion was also part of the Crystal Gems.

"I wonder if Mom knew…" Steven mumbled to himself before closing his eyes and falling back asleep.

oOoOo

 **Authors' Note:** Big shoutout to the user Wikisorcerer who started a TVTropes page for this series! Thanks so much!


	13. Watching

**Chapter Thirteen: Watching**

Lapis moved swiftly, her hydrokinesis propelling her neatly through the ocean's waves. She passed fish and kelp and other hallmarks of the Earth's oceans, before beginning to slow. She moved to the surface and as predicted, the shore was in view now. And on that shore was the unmistakable structure that the Crystal Gems made their base in.

Lapis had come in order to scope out the area and maybe see what they were doing to Steven. Pearl had feared there would be little hope; that the Crystal Gems would be keeping him locked inside their base, far beyond their reach. But luck seemed to be on her side, for there were two figures at the edge of the water; Steven and the Pearl.

 _The_ ** _other_ **_Pearl_ , Lapis scowled. She wasn't anything like the Pearl that Lapis had come to know. The way she spoke so kindly or knew when to offer a reassuring hand on her shoulder, or the way her hair fell just so and it looked so lovely…

Lapis shook her head, pushing that line of thought away. She needed to keep focused. She ducked back under the waves and swam closer, peeking only enough to see over the waves.

Both Steven and the other Pearl were there. Steven was doing… something, though Lapis wasn't sure what exactly. Though it must have been important, with the look of concentration on Steven's face. Which made the look of impatience clearly plastered on the Pearl's all the more frustrating.

Lapis gritted her teeth as she felt energy begin to gather in her gem. She wanted to summon her wings. They had been a hard won victory and now she could put them to _use_ , swooping over and grabbing Steven before Other Pearl could do _anything_ about it.

But…

Lapis knew that was a stupid plan, even without Pearl telling her so. The Crystal Gems knew where the Palanquin was now. And if she snatched Steven, they would probably be at the Palanquin before Lapis could be back with Steven. And Pearl would be there, defenseless…

And there was Greg, of course. The Crystal Gems would surely exact retaliation on him as well. Granted, Lapis was fairly indifferent to the human, but Steven cared for him. Plus he had helped them track down the Fountain to heal her gem, even if that trip was the source of all this.

A physical wave hit Lapis just as a very familiar one of guilt washed over her. Steven seemed to be finishing whatever he was doing and after a moment, Pearl beckoned him to follow her back towards the rebel base.

To his prison.

It would have been so easy, to just _crush_ the Pearl then and there.

Grimacing, Lapis flicked her wrist and sent a wave to shore, but this one was perfectly aimed and sized, hitting the other Pearl and making her stumble, but keeping Steven completely dry.

Lapis found herself smirking with devilish delight as the other Pearl began fuming at her now soaked form. Lapis had to resist the urge to move forward and try to get an earful of her rage.

Instead, she ducked back beneath the waves and began swimming away. There didn't seem to be much in the way of defenses around the rebel's base, save for a chainlink fence. And that would hardly stop their plans.

Lapis found herself smirking to herself again.

She and Pearl had planning to do.

* * *

It had been nearly two days since he'd been captured by the Crystal Gems, and Steven was not a fan.

 _At least I'm not dead,_ Steven reflected, as played idly with the strings of his hoodie. _Or being tortured._

Or maybe he _was_ being tortured. Of _boredom_.

In between runs for food, Dad had done what he could to keep Steven entertained. They'd gotten out a pack of cards and played with those, although there weren't many good games that could only be done with two. They'd told each other jokes and riddles, and played Eye Spy, and Twenty Questions, and Never Would I Ever. Dad had gotten out his guitar, and Steven had sung along, even if he did get embarrassed about how he sounded in comparison to his awesome, rock-star father.

It reminded Steven of the days when they'd been lived in the apartment, and been able to just hang out together. It all would've been really nice, actually, if there hadn't always been at least one Crystal Gem standing there, silently judging.

But there were way more things to do in an apartment than a cage. Especially when you could leave the apartment to go places. Already it felt like they were running out of activities, and Steven would have to spend the rest of his life like this.

 _No, I'm not. I'm gonna find a way out of here. Somehow._

Steven looked up from his sketchbook, to where Dad was splayed out on the blankets, napping. Steven considered joining him— the warp lag pulled at his eyes, tempting him to sleep. Except he was working on his drawing, and he didn't want to waste the daylight, because he wouldn't be able to see well enough to finish it if he woke up in the middle of the night.

That was the idea, at least, but Steven found he didn't have much enthusiasm for drawing, after all. He kept starting a sketch, then stopping, not sure how he wanted it to continue. Or... no, he knew exactly how. He just, well... He'd already filled three full pages of the book, and ripped one out for the letter he'd written Pearl and Lapis (he sure hoped that Rose Quartz wasn't lying about having delivered it). There were only another twenty-six pages left. If he filled them all out, then…

Steven squeezed his eyes shut, pretending it was just because of exhaustion. Maybe he should sleep after all.

He laid down, and tried to let his mind go blank.

He was just beginning to succeed, when the sound of laughter pierced through the air, disturbing him.

"Oh, _come on_ ," he grumbled, opening his eyes.

He immediately could tell something was wrong. Just minutes before, the cave had been filled with rich, afternoon sunlight. Now the quality of the light was completely different. Paler, greyer. The wind that blew from the entrance felt chillier, too. And both Dad and the cage had vanished completely.

Steven recognised the signs. This was a Vision.

He sat up, instantly alert, and the laughter came again, clearer this time. He recognised it as belonging to Amethyst. Her voice echoed up from the beach as she approached. "And did ya see my splash?"

"I did!" That was Rose Quartz's voice, bubbling up with laughter. "It was astounding."

"It was certainly very large," said the final voice, the other Pearl's, as the three Crystal Gems appeared in the cave's entrance. They were all dripping wet.

They were still immediately recognisable as their modern counterparts. However, aside from Rose Quartz, who still wore that same simple white dress, the other two looked quite different. The Pearl's outfit looked antiquated, in a general sense— Steven couldn't pin the historical period or culture down precisely, but the way her shirt hung like a toga felt vaguely mediterranean. The Amethyst, in comparison, looked oddly stiff and formal. Her hair was cropped short, and it looked like she was wearing some sort of military uniform. There was even a diamond insignia on her chest.

 _This must be right after she first deserted_ , Steven thought. He stepped forward to get a closer look, but was mindful not to go too far. His body was still in the present, and if he walked into the cage, that would probably be enough to knock him out of the vision.

"Pearl, what were those animals again?" Amethyst asked, as she walked right past Steven. "The ones who see with sounds?"

"Those were whales. Although they don't _see_ with sound, precisely— that's just a metaphor. It's called 'echolocation'. Some Gems are capable of the same thing. They send off sound waves, and when the waves hit a physical object, they bounce back, which…"

The Pearl trailed off. She seemed to be staring at Rose Quartz, for some reason. Steven wasn't sure why. The fearsome warrior wasn't doing anything but wringing out her hair.

"Pearl?" Amethyst tugged on her shirt. "What'cha looking at, Pearl?"

"Ah, well..." The Pearl's face turned blue. "Just at Rose."

Amethyst looked from Pearl, to Rose Quartz, and tilted her yeah. "Yeah. Rose's hair looks pretty funny."

It _did_ look pretty funny, Steven had to agree. When it was dry, her curls looked like something out of a fairy tale, but when wet, it was just like a giant pink mop.

If possible, the Pearl's face went even bluer.

Rose Quartz giggled, and gave the Pearl a wink. It was weird, seeing the murderer acting so _playful_. In response, the Pearl smiled, and that was weird too, how the expression made her face seem so much softer.

The moment passed when Amethyst tugged on the Pearl's shirt again, and then climbed up at her. The Pearl's eyes went wide in surprise— then her smiled shifted, as she allowed Amethyst to come and rest in her arms. Amethyst said, "Can you finish telling me the thing about the whales?"

"Of course," the Pearl began, coughing to clear her throat. "As I was saying…"

She barely got two sentences into her lecture before she stopped again, this time by the warp pad activating. Steven spun to see the fusion having arrived, some sort of golden artifact under her arm—

"Garnet! Garnet!" Amethyst cried, springing from the Pearl's arms. "You're back! I went swimming, Garnet! You shoulda seen me—"

" _Steven Universe_ ," Rose Quartz said, and Steven jumped.

But it wasn't the Rose Quartz from the vision, of course. It was the Rose Quartz of the present. She'd called out to him, and his body had heard, and now the Vision had faded. He scowled.

"What?" he asked the rebel leader.

Rose Quartz just smiled, as if she didn't even notice his annoyance. "You had simply been looking around quite oddly. I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Oh, yeah. I'm doing just _great_ ," Steven drawled.

"Ah, I am glad."

Steven turned away, so that she wouldn't see him roll his eyes. He might be her prisoner, but that didn't mean he wanted to small talk with a killer.

He didn't really want to see Visions of that killer, either. Especially not ones where she went on beach trips, and joked with fellow traitors, and acted so _happy_ , as if she'd never done anything wrong. It made his stomach flip. Still. Maybe if he got more of those Visions, he'd See something. Something that he could use against the Crystal Gems.

Steven laid back down, closed his eyes, and tried again.

* * *

"Ah, man! This is gonna rock!"

Amethyst walked towards the warehouse, Connie right beside her. It had been longer than Amethyst could remember when she'd last been this excited. Wrestle-Mania was already such a riot, but now she was here with _Connie_. This was going to be a **great** night.

Connie smirked at her, "Was that a pun?"

Amethyst blinked. "A pun? Whaddya mean?"

"You said this is going to rock," Connie explained. "And you're, ya know. A magic space rock."

" _Ohhh_ ," Amethyst laughed. "Yeah, exactly. We're really gonna rock now!"

"Easy, you two. Wait up for me."

Connie sighed as her dad, Doug, straddled up to them, straightening his glasses as he did. According to Connie, the only way that her parents would let her out after her curfew was if she had one of them accompanying them. Though it was pretty obvious to Amethyst that Connie wasn't happy about it, Amethyst herself didn't really care. Besides, the more the merrier. Amethyst honestly just wanted to get away from the Temple for a while. And hanging with Connie was a great way to that, even with her dad in tow.

"So, Amethyst," Doug said as they walked through the warehouse doors, greeted by the excited cheering and chatter of humans. The ring was already set up, although nobody was out there yet. That was good. Meant that the show was just about to start. "Have you been to many of these events before?"

"Oh, yeah," Amethyst answered, leading them over to the front row seats. These were perfect. Maybe Amethyst could get another tooth. "These are great. Lotsa fun."

"Well that's good," Doug said, clapping his hands together as he took his seat next to Connie. "Are you excited, dear?"

" _Yes, Dad._ " Connie leaned over to Amethyst and whispered, "I'm sorry, Amethyst. I was holding out hope it would just be the two of us."

"Connie," Doug said, his face instantly dropping into a hurt grimace. "I can't _believe_ you wouldn't want me to share this with my only daughter. I am _hurt_."

Connie's eyes grew wide in surprise. "N-no! That's not what I meant, Dad! I just—"

Doug began laughing as he got up, "It's okay, sweetie. Calm down. Here, that popcorn's calling my name." He pointed the manned cart near the entrance. "You two want anything?"

"No, I'm okay, Dad."

"Sure, I'll go for some, dude!"

"Cool," Doug said, pointing a pair of finger guns at Amethyst. "I'll be right back."

Connie looked behind them at Doug, before turning towards Amethyst. "Dad really seems to like you, Amethyst."

"Yeah?"

Connie nodded. "Sure. I mean, Dad's always kinda like this, but still. He was really eager to come. Mom could barely protest."

" _Heh_ , well, who wouldn't want to come out with us?" Amethyst shrugged nonchalantly. "We're just two cool gals out on the town."

Connie smiled brightly. "Yeah, we are. Just the two of us. And my dad."

"Every group needs a straight man," Amethyst said. "For me and the Gems, it's Pearl. And for us, it can be your dad."

Honestly, Amethyst had _wanted_ Pearl to come. She'd invited her— she was _sure_ that wrestling would be right up her alley, if only she'd give it a try. Fighting, ridiculous costumes, over-the-top drama... It just _oozed_ Pearl.

But nooooo. Pearl had all been like, " _I've got to watch the Diamond_." That was all she and the others talked about these days. It had been fun at first, finally getting to see a Diamond up close and personal, but now Amethyst was getting really sick of the whole thing. Guard duty was boring, and it was… worrying, the way Rose and Garnet and Pearl kept having these _talks_ when they thought Amethyst wasn't around.

Connie smiled, before looking away. She looked directly at the ring as she spoke, "Have you ever come to Wrestle-Mania with one of the other Gems?"

"Once," Amethyst said. "Wasn't much fun, though. Pearl didn't 'get it', Rose kept trying to climb into the ring to heal everyone after every match, and Garnet always knew who was going to win." Amethyst blew a raspberry through her lips. "Just… bleh."

Before Connie could respond, Doug returned with two bags of popcorn in tow. "I didn't miss anything, did I?" He took his seat and passed one of the bags to Amethyst and placed the other in his lap.

"Nah, you're good," Amethyst responded, eating a fistful of the popcorn. "I'm excited. Things are gonna be starting soon."

"Well, hi excited. I'm Doug."

There was a pause, as if everything around them grew quiet. Connie buried her rapidly reddening face in her hands and let out a muffled moan. " _Daaaad."_

However Amethyst just let out a thunderous roar of laughter. "Oh man, that's perfect. 'I'm excited', that's _hilarious_." Amethyst doubled over in her seat, nearly dropping her popcorn as she laughed so hard, others around them began to look over and make sure everything was okay.

"Well, now. It's good to know you have only the highest quality sense of humor, Amethyst," Doug said, looking more than a little proud of himself.

Connie only continued to look at Amethyst, a lopsided grin on her face. "I think Dad may have found his ideal audience."

Amethyst was about to say that she'd be willing to listen to any jokes he had, if they were as good as that one, but she was cut off by the sound of a tinny jingle. At first Amethyst didn't know where it was coming from and was about to ask as much, but then she remembered her escapades a few days before. She reached down the neck of her shirt and removed the cellphone hidden there. "I thought you didn't have a cellphone, Amethyst?" Connie asked.

"I don't," Amethyst answered, pressing her finger down on the screen of Mr. Universe's phone. She then put the phone near her mouth and yelled, " _We won't tell ya nothin', Homeworld scum!_ " and then promptly hung up, sticking the phone back in place.

"Uh, who was that?" Doug asked.

"I dunno. No one good, though."

The lights started to dim around them and focus on the stage. Wrestle-Mania's host got up to the center and roared into the mic:

"Allllrright, folks! Are all of you ready to get this show on the road?!"

The crowd roared in response. Amethyst got to her feet to cheer, Connie getting up after her to join in.

"Then let's starting getting out first fighters for the night hyped up! Give it up for Shark-O-Mania and Concrete Heat!"

* * *

"...and then the way he jumped off the ropes and landed right on him!" Amethyst slapped the palms of her hands together for emphasis.

Connie nodded, still grinning. "Yeah! And then when Sea Wasp grabbed Concrete Heat and dragged him out the ring, I thought it was all over!"

Doug sighed, before laughing wearily. "It was certainly an event," he said, rubbing his forehead. "Though I think I might have gotten hit with a tooth…"

"I know! That's the best part!" Amethyst declared. "Shoulda tried to keep it."

"Right." They came to the road, packed as it was with people and cars trying to leave. "You two stay here and I'll go get the car and bring it around." Doug pushed his way through the crowd and soon disappeared from sight. Amethyst shifted in place for a while before she sat down on the grass at the edge of the road. Connie sat down next to her.

"Man," Amethyst sighed. "Tonight was great, dude. Really nice to take a load off, ya know?"

Connie nodded. "Anything… you wanna talk about?"

Amethyst chuckled. "Why? Wanting to know more cool Gem secrets?"

"Sort of," Connie admitted, also chuckling. "I was sorta wondering why you wouldn't let me come up on the beach tonight. But if you need to get some things off your mind…"

Amethyst was silent for a moment. "Eh, it's nothing big. Just Crystal Gem stuff." She started absentmindedly picking at the grass in front of her. "We got a prisoner at the Temple, but they're no ordinary prisoner. They're a _Diamond_. One of the leaders of Homeworld."

"Really?" Connie gasped. "So, you've basically got like a space queen locked up at your Temple right now?"

"Basically," Amethyst responded. "She thought she was hot stuff. But we smacked her back down into place though, and she ain't ever gonna hurt anyone ever again." Amethyst grinned broadly.

"Wow. That's pretty impressive."

"I guess," Amethyst shrugged. "After all, _I'm_ here. Not much a Diamond can do to me. Cause I'm so _awesome._ "

Connie grinned slyly. "Is that so?"

"Well _duh_. I mean, I wasn't with Garnet when she captured Blue Diamond," Amethyst said. "But I made sure to look really big and imposing when she was brought back."

Connie let out an amused snort, but quickly stopped when she saw how Amethyst was avoiding her gaze.. "And… that's all?"

"What else is there?"

"You have talked to the other Gems, right?" Connie asked.

Amethyst shrugged again. "Yeah. I mean… I guess." She brushed all the bits of picked grass from in front of her. "I did my thing. Not really much else for me to do."

Connie however seemed upset by Amethyst's answer. "That's not true! You're a Crystal Gem too! You have just as much say as they do."

"Well, yeah. But—"

"But nothing. You have your opinions, you should make sure they hear them!" Connie said. "Trust me. Fading into the background can be… disheartening after a while."

Amethyst blinked at her, as she mulled over what Connie had said. It made sense, and Amethyst did have opinions, at the very least. Like how she still didn't think this Diamond was anything like what the others had told her about. And Connie was super smart and hadn't steered her wrong yet.

"Alright, dude. I'll… talk it over with them. When I get a chance."

Connie smiled and nodded. "Good. I'm glad."

"Ya know, Connie? You're pretty cool."

Connie's face began to flush as she looked down at her hands. "Oh, well… Um, thanks, Amethyst…"

Doug pulled up in his car, the front window rolled down. "Get in, you two. We're heading out."

Amethyst and Connie did so, sliding into the backseat and buckling their seatbelts. The car began to drive off and Amethyst glanced over at Connie, who was idly tracing over the area where her finger had been. Amethyst smiled, a little bittersweetly.

"Seriously, dude," she said, putting a hand on Connie's shoulder. "You are, like, one of the coolest people I've ever met. Definitely the coolest human. I'm super glad I saved your life and stuff."

Connie smiled back at her. "Yeah. Me too, Amethyst. I'm glad you saved my life too."

The two laughed together all the way back to the Temple.


	14. Shifting

**Chapter Fourteen: Shifting**

Rose didn't want to do this.

She'd been putting it off and putting it off. Garnet had even offered to do it for her, and the offer had been tempting. But no. This was something Rose felt she had to do for herself.

"Mr. Universe?" she said lightly, interrupting the music he was playing. "Could we talk?"

The human put down his guitar and gave her that careful, guarded look he'd been wearing for days now. "Uh. Sure."

He didn't get up.

"Outside, perhaps?" Rose asked, tilting her head towards the cave mouth.

The two Universe's turned to each other, a silent conversation passing between them. Finally, Mr. Universe sighed and stood up. Steven Universe fixed Rose Quartz with a piercing blue stare.

"You'll be okay on your own, bud?" Mr. Universe asked.

"I won't be alone," Steven Universe said dully, jutting a thumb towards Amethyst. She gave him a sharp smile in response.

Rose hoped the two would get along okay.

Rose Quartz led the way out of the cave and down the slope to the beach. Neither of them spoke. Once they were out of the Temple's immediate range, Mr. Universe picked up the pace, just enough for him to draw ahead of her. Rose Quartz let him do so. If it was a delay tactic, it was one she would allow herself to indulge in as well.

They came to a stop nearly five minutes later, and Rose understood why. He had taken her to his car wash. His place. Somewhere familiar, to provide him with extra confidence.

He stood next to his van, and turned to face her, expression weary, resigned, and defiant. "So?"

Rose had turned this conversation over in her mind many times, looking for a delicate way to handle it, something to make it softer, easier. She hadn't found one.

So she simply stated: "You spied on us."

Mr. Universe winced, but didn't deny it.

"You _used_ us," Rose Quartz continued, voice trembling a little. "You used _me_."

"I had to," he said.

Rose's eye narrowed. "Did you."

"Yes!" Mr. Universe drew himself up, something fierce burning in his eyes. "I know about you, Rose Quartz, and the things you've done. How you killed Pink Diamond. I could never let you do that to my son." His fists clenched. "Everything I did, I did for him."

A distant, detached part of Rose Quartz observed that passion, and approved of it. _He truly does believe what he is saying._

It lessened the pain, a little.

"So Steven truly is your son?"

"Yes!" Mr. Universe yelled. "For the hundredth time, _yes_! I know you Gems don't reproduce like we do, but I was there for his birth, I've raised Steven since he was in diapers. I know it must be hard for you to believe a Gem could have a kid, but I _swear_ that's what happened."

"It's not so much hard to believe that a Gem would have a child, as it is _Blue Diamond_ would."

Mr. Universe's face was hard. "Well, clearly you didn't know Blue very well, did you?"

 _You're the one who did not know her._

That's what Rose Quartz wanted to say, more than anything, but she stopped herself at the last moment. That would do nothing but antagonize him.

And perhaps he had a point. If Blue Diamond had sacrificed her existence to bring a human life into the world, then Rose Quartz truly did not know her as well as she'd thought.

Rose rubbed her eyes. "You should have just told me," she said. "We would never knowingly harm a human. If you'd been upfront and honest, we could have avoided all of this."

The anger on Mr. Universe's face faded, but some still remained. "Really?" he said. "So you're saying that if I'd come to you, two years ago and gone, 'Here's my son, he has the gemstone of a person you waged a war against', you wouldn't have thrown him in a cage?"

Rose Quartz said nothing.

The human gave a humorless bark of a laugh. "Thought so."

 _He doesn't understand_ , Rose Quartz said. And she _wanted_ him to understand. She wanted to tell him everything. About what the Diamonds had done, and were surely still doing, elsewhere in the galaxies. Destroying planets, subjugating Gems, using everyone around them to expand, expand, _expand_ —

She wanted him to realize what a threat Blue Diamond posed. That if any of her original self remained in the being calling himself Steven Universe, he needed to be locked away. That it was necessary to protect the planet, and every living thing on it.

She was just figuring out a way to begin, when Mr. Universe spoke first.

"For what it's worth," Mr. Universe said. "I… really did come to respect you, Rose. And like you. Hanging out with you was… nice."

Something deep within Rose's core clenched and shuddered, and anything she may have said died on her lips.

Wordlessly, Rose Quartz turned around, and walked away.

* * *

Amethyst exhaled loudly as she fell against the Temple's wall.

After all these stories about war and rebellion, about keeping dangerous Gems under control, about protecting the Earth, she'd been eager to do whatever she could to help out. But now she was being forced to confront a reality no one had ever bothered to tell her: Guard duty **_sucked_**.

How had she allowed Pearl to actually convince her that it would _fun_ to sit in the Temple's entrance and just watch the squishy Diamond sit there and stare at his hand?

Amethyst sighed, bored and frustrated. Of _course_ Pearl would find this enjoyable. Pearl would think that paint drying was a thrilling. Amethyst laughed at the image, Pearl standing in front of wall, looking so closely at it that the tip of her nose almost scraped against it—

There was a grunt from the cage, turning Amethyst's attention towards their captive, 'Steven'. He always had been kind of a weird one. Interesting, but weird. But now he was just staring at his hand and groaning. Amethyst pushed against the wall and walked over to the cell.

"Hey! Whatcha doing in there?"

Steven glanced briefly up from his hand. "I'm practicing my shapeshifting."

"Really?" Amethyst asked. "I didn't think you _could_ shapeshift."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Cause you've got a meat body," Amethyst answered, since it was the most obvious thing ever. "I mean if ya had a hard light body like a normal Gem, then sure."

"Well, I _can_ shapeshift," Steven said. "Just… not very well."

"Huh. Well, can I see?"

"Why?" Steven asked, narrowing his eyes.

Amethyst shrugged. "Not like we have a whole lot to do otherwise."

"That's… true, I guess," Steven admitted. "Okay. But just remember I'm not really that good. Pearl wasn't able to teach me much about shapeshifting."

Amethyst laughed. "Yeah. Our Pearl doesn't really like shapeshifting that much either. Doesn't know what she's missing."

"Yeah, shapeshifting is cool," Steven agreed, before turning his attention back to his hand. He stared at it, his expression growing more and more intense as he did. Amethyst was just about to ask if he was going to actually _do_ anything when she saw the tips of his fingers begin to grow and stretch. They grew for about two inches before quickly reverting back to their original length. Steven let go of his breath and turned back towards her. "So? What did you think?"

Amethyst blinked. "That's it? Ya can't do anything else?"

Steven grimaced at her before saying quietly, "I told you I wasn't that good…"

"Hey, woah! That's alright," Amethyst quickly said. "I mean, everyone's gotta start somewhere, right? Even _I_ wasn't a master of shapeshifting right away, ya know?"

"You're really good at shapeshifting?" Steven asked.

Amethyst grinned proudly. "Heck yeah. I might even be better than Rose."

That seemed to catch his attention. His eyes grew wide with surprise and wonder. "Really? Can you show me?"

"Sure," Amethyst chuckled. "Ya got any requests?"

"Um…" Steven tapped his chin. "I don't know. Something really cool?"

Wasn't the best bit of guidance ever, but Amethyst always had liked the chance to be creative.

"Hmm… Alright, I think I gotcha," Amethyst said. She turned her back to him and flashed as she felt her body begin to morph and take a new shape. Slimmed her body, redistributed her mass into a little extra height; lengthened her nose, sharpened her chin, pulled in her hair…

It was done quickly (Amethyst's claim as a master hadn't been _all_ bluster), and without even stopping to inspect herself, Amethyst turned back to face the very surprised Steven.

"Woah…" Steven cooed as he looked her up and down.

"Yeah. Pretty cool, huh?" Amethyst asked grinning, flicking some strands of hair off her ears. "How'd I look?"

"You look just like me!"

Amethyst couldn't help but grin even broader. She hadn't been one-hundred percent sure how it was going to turn out, but if Steven's reaction had been any indication, she must have done a fairly good job. She turned in place, letting Steven get a good look.

"Woah," Steven repeated. "How long did it take you to be able to shapeshift like that?"

"How long did it take you to be able to shapeshift like that?" Amethyst mimicked, pitching her voice lower.

Steven giggled. Amethyst copied him.

"I dunno," Amethyst shrugged, once the laughter had subsided. "I was doing it before Rose found me."

"Found you?" Steven asked. "Like, when you joined the Rebellion?"

"Well," Amethyst started as she sat down and let her form return to normal. "I guess I'm technically a Crystal Gem. But by the time Rose found me, the war was way over."

"Really?" Steven sat down as well, crossing his legs "Huh. I just kind of assumed all three of you had fought during the Rebellion."

"Nah. Not me. Just Rose, Pearl, and Garnet."

"So then… what were doing before Rose Quartz found you?"

"Chilling, mostly," Amethyst answered. "Hanging around my hole, exploring, talking to Pebble."

Steven tilted his head. "Pebble?"

"Yeah, Pebble was my best friend before Rose found me." Amethyst laughed. "We talked about all kinds of things."

"With a pebble?"

"Not _a_ pebble. Pebble," Amethyst sharply corrected. "Pebble was great. You could talk to them about anything."

"Oh, okay," Steven nodded. "So… where's Pebble now?"

Amethyst felt her face glow as she looked down at her lap. "I dunno. I set them down when Rose was gonna take me to the rebel base for the first time, but…" She shrugged. "Came back and I couldn't find Pebble anywhere." Amethyst frowned at her hands. She remembered being excited to show Pebble the base, only to return to the Kindergarten and not be able to find them. Probably some rain had come in and washed them way down the cavern, or something.

It had devastated her. And it had almost made her not want to return to the base, to just live in the Kindergarten forever. If Rose hadn't been so… _Rose-like_ , encouraging and reassuring, then she might never have left her hole in the Kindergarten again.

"Well, maybe Pebble left too," Steven suggested, drawing Amethyst's attention back in the present. He was looking directly at her and it might have been her imagination, but the corners of his eyes seemed to glisten. "Maybe someone found them and they left together. Just like you did with Rose Quartz."

Amethyst blinked and wiped her eyes. "Ya think?"

Steven smiled and nodded. "Yeah. You'll meet Pebble again someday."

Amethyst laughed. She knew it was stupid to think she'd run into a single specific pebble again, almost as stupid to actually treat one like a friend.

Still… it was a nice thought.

"Okay, okay. Enough, sap," Amethyst said, smiling at him. "Let's do some more shapeshifting practice. Is that hand trick the only one you can do?"

"I can make myself bigger."

"Oooh. Alright. Let's see that." She paused. "But not too big. Pearl will probably think you're trying to break out or something."

He nodded. As Steven closed his eyes and began to focus, Amethyst leaned in a little closer, deciding that maybe guard duty wasn't as bad as she had thought.

* * *

After Rose Quartz left, Greg just… stood there, for a while.

Eventually, he made himself get up, start walking down the boardwalk. It'd be dinner soon. Seven would need food.

He went to Fish Stew Pizza. He'd been going there a lot, lately. Couldn't be healthy. Not for him, and definitely not for a growing boy. Still, wasn't like he had a lot of options. The Crystal Gem Temple hardly had a fully stocked kitchen he could use to make proper, home cooked meals.

Oh. He never should have moved out of their apartment in Korea. Never should have left his son behind. Never should have come to Beach City. What had he been thinking, that he could play spy on a group of alien soldiers?

The betrayal on Rose Quartz's face hovered in his mind.

He pushed it away. It didn't matter. Why should he care about the 'feelings' of some murderous war criminal? Someone who'd locked Lapis Lazuli for thousands of years, and was going to do the same to his son? _She_ was the one who who should be apologizing to _him_ —

"Greg! There you are!"

He nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Geez, man, didn't mean to give you a heart attack," Vidalia said, clapping him on the shoulder. She must've come in behind him.

"Sorry," Greg muttered. "Didn't see you there."

"Yeah, and I haven't seen _you_ anywhere _._ Where have you _been_? You completely bailed on cards night, and when Barb tried to call you, she said some random lady picked up and screamed nonsense at her before hanging up."

"Oh," said Greg. "Sorry."

Vi peered at him, annoyance and mock anger fading into concern. "Dude— is everything alright?"

"...No. I've got some— family stuff going on right now. Keeping me busy."

Vidalia's frown deepened. Greg had never told her anything about his family; far as Beach City was concerned, he didn't have one. She must've been curious, but she didn't act on that curiosity. She just said, "Man, I'm sorry. Any way I can help?"

"No. Not really."

Which was true enough. But after Vi ordered her pizza, she sat there and waited with him. She didn't ask him any questions, which Greg was grateful for. She could tell he needed a distraction, and she gave it to him, talking about how Onion was settling in well at his new school, and the plans they had for when Yellowtail got back from his fishing trip next week, and how her online art store was really starting to take off.

"Order up for Greg Universe!" called one of the Pizza twins from the counter. He stood up to go grab it.

"Greg," said Vi, making him pause. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

He gave her a wan smile, and said nothing.

He left the restaurant, and carried the hot box up the boardwalk and up the beach to the Crystal Gem Temple, trying his best not to drag his feet.

When he arrived, he was met by the strange sight of a purple cat rolling on the floor with laughter, as Steven walked the length of his cage, hands tucked into his armpits as he flapped his arms like wings, bobbing his head. A loud clucking sound came from his mouth, now stretched out into the long yellow shape of a beak.

"Look at me, Dad!" he cried. "I'm a chicken."

Greg couldn't help it. He burst out laughing.

It wasn't even really that funny. It was just— sometimes, you had to laugh.

Greg spent the meal tossing pizza crusts into the cage, for Steven to catch in his constantly shifting mouth, trying on everything from an elephant's trunk to a frog's tongue. Most of the crust landed on the floor. Steven gave them to Amethyst to eat. Greg hesitated a little, and let her eat the box, too.


	15. Answers

**Chapter Fifteen: Answers**

Time passed and Steven found himself adjusting to his life of imprisonment.

Dad was always there with him, making sure he was okay. He was good company, but there were only so many times they could play hangman, and Steven felt guilty for keeping his Dad trapped with him in the boring cave under the ever-watchful eyes of the Crystal Gems.

"The people of Beach City still need clean vehicles," Steven told his Dad after three days. It took some urging and some not-quite-arguing, but Dad eventually agreed to spend a couple hours at the car wash per day.

Steven sought out more ways to fill his time. Amethyst's guard duties quickly became his favourite— they could fill the hours talking. She turned out to be pretty funny, actually. She reminded Steven of some of the kids he'd used to play with down at the park in Korea, before he had moved up to the Palanquin. He often had to remind himself that Amethyst wasn't a kid, however much she might look like one. She was an ancient warrior, and he couldn't let his guard down.

But still. He liked talking with her.

He practiced his shapeshifting a lot, both with her guidance and by himself. He could change his hand into any shape, make his nose longer or shorter, even start growing fur. It was exhausting, but he didn't mind. Anything to help him sleep better.

Sleeping remained tricky. Partly because of the now-fading warp lag, partly because of the constant surveillance, and partly because of the Visions.

It wasn't that he disliked the Visions, per se. He still felt they were essential in gaining intel on the Crystal Gems. It was just that they came most often when he was on the edge of sleep, inevitably jerking him back into consciousness. He wished they'd come when he wanted them to, not when he'd finally gotten cozy in his sleeping bag.

This time, when the Vision came, it was just after lunch. Steven's stomach had been comfortably full, and the sound of the rain outside the cavern had been easing him into a nap…

"I've got to get out of here," grumbled a stranger's voice.

Steven snapped to attention, his eyes flying open. It was twilight in his Vision, making it difficult to make out the two figures in front of him. The one was short, even shorter than himself. Not a kid like him, though. A Gem. He recognized the type from one of Pearl's many lessons— red coloration, short and stocky form, the heavy and measured gait befitting a soldier...

A Ruby.

Suddenly, the air was very, very hot.

Just as he thought it, he was blasted from behind by a wave of cold. He turned just in time to see the other figure to step through him, intangible.

He shivered.

"Wait!" the second Gem cried. She, too, Steven could recognize, by the vivid blue of her colors and the finery of her outfit: a Sapphire. "Where are you going?"

Ruby stomped her foot. "Don't know!"

"Where are you going?" Sapphire demanded again, running up and grabbing Ruby by the shoulder.

"I _don't know_!" the Ruby cried again. "Out of here! Off this planet!

"Wait," Sapphire pleaded. "Please, Ruby... You _can't_ go..."

Ruby turned abruptly, and Steven could now see her face: an emotional mess covered in tears, which evaporated as soon as they fell from her eyes.

"I know. I know! But Sapphire— I can't stay here— alone, on this planet, for the rest of my life with all these— these _monsters_ —"

"You won't be alone," said Sapphire. "You have me, and Pearl and Rose."

"Three Gems," Ruby muttered, " _Three_ other Gems. That's it. That's _all_."

Steven wrapped his arms around the chest. He felt certain that he shouldn't be watching this. That this was something deeply private.

But he couldn't make himself look away or break the Vision. He had too many questions. Why were these Gems fighting? They were clearly Crystal Gems, but then how come Steven had never seen them before—

— Oh.

A Sapphire. And a Ruby. That meant they were—

These were the fusion's components.

Steven felt kind of embarrassed at being so slow on the uptake, but in all fairness, he had been falling asleep earlier.

"I just can't bear to look at them," the Ruby was mumbling.

Sapphire took her hand, held it close. "It won't be forever. We'll find a way to heal them."

 _Heal them?_ Steven wondered. _Heal who?_

"That's not a prediction," Ruby said, voice slightly accusing.

"No," Sapphire agreed. "It's a hope."

Quite suddenly, Ruby flung herself forward and buried her head in Sapphire's chest, sobbing. Sapphire clutched, making soft, soothing noises that were very nearly sobs themselves.

Steven stared, scarcely believing that these could be the Gems that made up the violent, stoic Garnet.

"You're right," Ruby said. "You're right. We'll find a way. We'll help them."

"Help who?" Steven couldn't help but ask, even though he knew they could not hear or answer.

"Together," said Sapphire.

"Together," Ruby agreed.

Steven could only see Ruby's face now, smiling despite the tears still rolling down her face. And then he couldn't even see that. Ruby was being consumed by a red light, Sapphire by blue, so bright that it obscured all their features. Steven pushed himself backwards as it got brighter and brighter and brighter, lights merging into purple— a figure forming from it—

Garnet appeared, and Steven yelped.

The vision ended.

* * *

There was a reason Sapphires generally formed with their eyes covered. When they first come out of the ground, they could easily get lost in their visions, responding and reacting to them as if they were happening in the present. As they learned to control their visions, such overt reactions faded, but it was impossible to suppress how their eyes would dart to and fro, looking at things that weren't there. Other Gems found that disquieting, at the very least.

Garnet's initial reaction to her strange, new Future Vision had been similar. While Sapphire's experience had been invaluable, even she had been unprepared for the initial rush of dozens and dozens of potential futures. Her first few years as a fusion had been an awkward adjustment period.

She was, therefore, very adept at noticing the signs in Steven Universe.

The tendency to stare off into space. The way his eyes would dart backwards and forwards. How he would say things out of the blue. How he would react to seemingly nothing.

Garnet could recognise the exact moment his current vision ended. The way his expression switched from mingled amazement, curiosity, and horror into just plain surprise when he noticed Amethyst was standing right in front of him.

He yelled.

Amethyst laughed at him. "Nightmare?"

"No!" he groused.

"Suuuuuurrre," Amethyst said.

"It wasn't," Steven said. "It was a Vision…"

"Of what?"

From her position on the wall, Garnet leaned forward a fraction. The movement caught Steven's attention, and his gaze snapped to her.

"Of _them_ ," he said.

Garnet grimaced at the plural pronoun, but said nothing. Just tilted her head a little.

"Whaddya mean?" Amethyst asked.

"Uhhh..." Conflict flashed across Steven's face. It probably had occurred to him that he might not want to share what he had experienced. He looked directly at Garnet. "It was you, but it wasn't _you._ It was Ruby and Sapphire."

Garnet said nothing.

"They were fighting."

She considered this. She felt no conflict within herself. It was _possible_ that she might unfuse in the near future because of a fight, but that seemed very, very unlikely.

Not a Vision of the future, then.

A Vision of the past.

She'd suspected as much, but she wanted confirmation.

"Tell me what you Saw," said Garnet.

Steven still looked uncertain about speaking to her, but evidently, curiosity won out. "We were here, in this cave. I didn't catch the beginning of the conversation, but you two were alone and Ruby was… angry. About something. She wanted to leave, but Sapphire stopped her. She said— you were going to heal someone? And then you two hugged, and…"

"I fused," said Garnet.

Steven nodded, looking down at his feet. His cheeks had taken a reddish tone.

Squirming a little, he managed to ask, "What's it… like?"

When Garnet didn't immediately answer, Amethyst jumped in instead. "Fusion? Oh, man, it is awesome! It's like, you just get _bigger_. Not just your body, your _mind_ too, and you've got all these cool new thoughts!"

Steven was startled. "You've fused?"

"Yeah, sure, tons of times!" Amethyst agreed, grinning. "Me and Pearl make Opal, and me and Garnet make Sugilite, and me 'n Rose make—"

"Ahem," Garnet said, raising a hand and cutting her off.

The Diamond— the _boy_ — seemed relieved.

Garnet considered her words carefully. Just describing fusion to him wouldn't help. It wasn't something words could do justice to. Especially if you were already biased against it.

' _Help who_?' Steven had asked to the cave when he'd been lost in his Vision. Now that she had context, Garnet could give him the answer: the corrupted Gems. The question was whether he'd accept her answer. Mother or not, he appeared to have a nearly worshipful attitude towards Blue Diamond. Even if he knew about the monsters, knew they had once been sentient beings, would he believe her if she told him who was responsible?

No.

If Steven Universe was going to be convinced, he was going to need evidence. Evidence he could see with his own two eyes.

"You have Visions," Garnet said. "They come to you without warning or control. They are distracting."

He blinked at the change of topic, but nodded.

"I can teach you to control them," said Garnet.

" _Woah_ ," said Amethyst.

Steven was far less excited. He regarded her with frank suspicion. "Why'd you want to do that?"

"Because there is something that you should see."

"...What sort of thing?" he asked.

"You'll have to find out."

He stared at her with those very blue eyes. Garnet met them easily.

"Fine," he said, at last. "Uh… so should I sit down or…?"

"No," said Garnet. She made her way to the cage, and dissipated a few of the bars with a wave of her hand. "We're going on a trip."

* * *

Steven had to admit that he had no idea where they were. As the warp stream disappeared, the first thing he saw was the clear blue sky above, with only a few lonely clouds floating along. But when Steven stepped off the warp pad, he realized that the sky wasn't just above them. It was all around them.

They were on a platform floating _in the sky!_

Over the nearest ledge, Steven could make out the distant landscape below— jagged mountains and a robust field of greenery. It was a beautiful view, almost picturesque. However, Garnet and Amethyst didn't react to this at all, instead they simply stepped off the warp pad and began to walk in the opposite direction.

Steven briefly considered taking advantage of their lapse in attention, to warp away and never look back, but instead he scampered after them. Besides knowing that he had no place to run, Steven also actually wanted to see what Garnet was going to show him through his Visions.

Walking up some stairs led them to a wider, more open area, kind of like a sports arena. Rows and rows of seats rose around them, overlooking the flat stone expanse in the center. There were a few ruined columns at the borders of the arena, the crumbling architecture and the jagged edges of the floor only showed that this was once a much grander place.

Destroyed by the civil war, just like all the other Gem buildings on Earth.

"Where are we?" Steven finally asked, still gazing all around him. He wanted to reach out and touch some of the carvings, but his hands were bound by Amethyst's whip.

"The Cloud Arena," Garnet answered simply. "This is… a very important place."

"Why?"

"During the early days of the War, this was where Blue Diamond's court was held," Garnet explained. "She had come to tour the newest colony, the first colony for Pink Diamond. And to receive the wisdom from one of her Sapphires."

"Mom was here?" Steven gasped. "When she was still ruling Homeworld?"

Garnet nodded curtly, but Amethyst said, "Ya wanna see her like that, dontcha?"

"Well… yeah. I do," Steven said. He had seen Visions of his mother, of course. From her towering figure at the Palanquin, to her and Dad curled up together on the couch at the apartment. Once, he'd even had a Vision of them making out, and he'd gotten out of that one _fast_.

But he had never seen her when she was still a ruler. And while he had asked Pearl what Blue Diamond had been like back then, her descriptions had always been annoyingly vague.

If he could have a Vision, he could finally see for himself.

"Is that why you brought me here?" Steven asked. "To show me this place and tell me Mom was here once?"

Garnet shook their head. "You said you wanted to see Blue Diamond while she was still ruling over Homeworld. Now is your chance."

"Really?" Steven was astonished. They were just… going to let him sit there and have a Vision?

"Yes," Garnet said. "I want you to see her."

Steven felt his brow lower and the corners of his mouth tighten. "Why?"

Garnet silently looked at him for a moment, before saying, "Blue Diamond is a part of you. You deserve to have the fullest picture of her as possible."

Steven wasn't sure what to think about this. He would be glad to get a Vision of his mother before she had come to live on Earth, but there had to be some sort of catch.

"If you don't need any kind of special circumstances to have a Vision," Garnet said, "then you should get started right away."

"I should be fine," Steven said. "I just need to…" He closed his eyes and begun to focus his thoughts. He scrunched up his face, doing his best to only think about the Arena around him, and nothing else.

It was hard. Wind kept blowing hair in his face, and the whip bit uncomfortably into his wrists.

"Uh, ya okay, dude?" Amethyst asked. "You look like you're about to pass out or something."

Steven frowned. "No, I'm fine. I'm just… focusing."

Amethyst didn't say anything else. Or maybe she did and Steven just didn't hear her.

He felt a familiar tingle in his torso as the energy in his gem emerged and gathered. Then, he began to use that energy. The exact process was hard to describe. Whenever he tried to tell Pearl about it, all he could really say was that it felt natural, like everything was just how it was supposed to be.

The world started to _feel_ fuzzy around him, and he felt just a touch lightheaded. When Steven opened his eyes again, everything was different.

Garnet and Amethyst were gone, as was most of the arena. In fact, all that remained of it was a single giant rock. Or— no, that was too small a word. This was like the whole top of a mountain had been lifted into the sky.

Gems were working on it, dozens of them. They were huge and bulky, their hair like tangled rainbows. The stone under his feet _thundered_ as they dug away at it with pick-axes.

Except they weren't pick-axes, he realized. They were part of the Gems' bodies. They'd shapeshifted their arms into tools, to cut away at the stone.

"Mom?" Steven spun around, trying to get a glimpse of her, but everywhere he looked, he could only see these builders, chipping away—

He blinked, and suddenly he was back in the present, the Crystal Gems staring at him.

"So?" asked Amethyst.

"It didn't work," Steven grumbled, and explained what he saw.

"Bismuths," commented Garnet, and Steven vaguely recalled the name from some of Pearl's lessons. "Must have been from when they were constructing the Arena. You went too far back. Try again."

Steven didn't appreciate being ordered around by a Crystal Gem, but she was right. Dad had always told him, you didn't get anywhere by giving up.

So he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to focus.

It came quicker this time. The sound of wind cut out suddenly, and all he could hear was screaming.

Screams, and explosions, and a horn high and loud—

His eyes flew open. It was pitch black. Lights flared at a distance. Fire, or cannons, or lasers... He couldn't tell, there was too much. All around him, people were stampeding for the nearest warp pad, or else charging in the other direction, towards the battle—

A battle.

He was in the middle of a battle.

There was a yelp and a burst of smoke. The Gem beside him was poofed by a sword through their neck.

Something flashed, heading right towards him— an arrow. He tried to dodge, but he was too slow. It went right through his head—

He screamed.

There was no arrow, no battle, no fighting. It was daytime, and he wasn't dead.

The fusion was crouching on the ground in front of him. He could see his own reflection in her visor, pale faced and wide-eyed. He looked so scared, and he hated it.

"Tell me what you Saw," Garnet ordered.

"Fighting. Lots of it." He shuddered. "Everyone was running…"

"What you saw cannot harm you. It is merely a vision, immaterial. Damage will only come if you ignore what you See."

Biting his lips, Steven pondered this. He could see how this would be important for the fusion. They could see the _future_. That had to be super helpful for all sorts of stuff.

But the past was the past. You couldn't change it.

Then again, he remembered his history lessons. The textbooks talked about how people made the same mistakes, again and again. It was only by understanding what had happened before that you could do better now.

"But how do I See what I want to see, instead of just random junk?!" he groused.

"What's wrong with random junk?" said Amethyst, tracing some shapes into the dust on the stone.

"It's annoying." _And scary_ , Steven added to himself, recalling the visions of battles and Pink Diamond's death.

The fusion stroked their chin. "For me, Seeing what I want is a simple matter. I simply Look to the immediate future, and things flow from there. But you have the entire past behind you. It is easy to get lost in it." Garnet focused on Steven again. "Stop clearing your mind. Instead, you need to focus on what you want, specifically."

"But I don't know what I want!"

"You do. You want to see Blue Diamond. Picture her in your mind."

Steven did— that was easy, he'd drawn so many pictures of her. But that was Blue Diamond as Mom, not Blue Diamond as queen.

"Her Pearl was with her," Garnet said, their voice sounding very far away, and Steven imagined that too. He could feel the power beginning to bubble up inside of him. "And Sapphire…"

He opened his eyes.

Garnet and Amethyst were gone, replaced instead by dozens of Gems, some types Steven recognized and some he didn't. They all seemed to be generally gathered around some kind of large structure—

"The Palanquin!"

Steven didn't bother trying to go around the Gems, instead he just ran straight through the phantoms. He emerged at the front of the crowd and was greeted by a very familiar face.

"Pearl?" He spoke softly, even though he knew she, nor anyone else, couldn't hear him. He could feel his heart racing as he slowly approached her.

He'd missed her so _much_.

At first glance, she seemed exactly as Steven knew her. Same thick hair covering her eyes, same leotard and frilly dress. And yet, this version of Pearl still seemed different.

In the present, Pearl always seemed to be moving around and doing _something_ , whether that was making lunch, or cleaning up a mess, or doing any other number of chores. But now, she was just standing there, head tilted down and her hands folded carefully in front of her.

She didn't seem to be moving at all, not even the slightest sway.

It was all more than a little unnerving, seeing her stand there like a statue. Steven had slowly begun to circle around Pearl when when a voice rang out above him:

"Sapphire, tell me what will happen here."

Steven quickly swiveled around and saw, to his amazement, his _mother_ sitting in the Palanquin's throne. He wasn't sure how he'd missed her, even in his excitement to see Pearl again. She towered over everyone, her expression hidden by the hood of her robe. The tone she spoke with was perfectly calm and level.

Blue Diamond was gazing downwards, past Steven. He turned again, and this time saw another Gem. It took him a moment to recognize her. She was the small blue Sapphire Steven had seen in his earlier Vision, the one who'd argued with the Ruby who made up Garnet's other half.

Steven looked behind the Sapphire and saw three Rubies all standing at attention. Was one of them _the_ Ruby?

"My Diamond," Sapphire bowed before Blue Diamond. "The events have been foreseen. The rebels will attack the Cloud Arena and before they are cornered, they will destroy the physical forms of seven gems, including two of my Ruby guards, and myself. Immediately after my form is destroyed, the rebels will be captured. The rebellion ends here."

"Thank you, Sapphire," Blue Diamond said, her tone seeming to loosen just a touch. "That is all I needed to know."

"I look forward to speaking to you again when I reform on Homeworld." Sapphire curtsied before returning to her Ruby guards.

Steven blinked in confusion. That… obviously wasn't what had happened. Had the Sapphire been deliberately deceiving Blue Diamond? Or maybe her Future Vision just wasn't very good.

Steven watched them for a moment, seeing Sapphire briefly converse with one of the Rubies, before he turned back to focus on his mother.

Much like Pearl, she was very unlike what he knew of her. Far from the romantic in Dad's stories or the distant tales Pearl had told him (Or indeed from the Visions he had seen of her weeping in front of the abandoned pink Palanquin…).

Instead, Blue Diamond was tall and authoritative. It was clear that she was in charge and every Gem there knew it. Steven couldn't help but smile. He hoped he could be as good a Diamond as she was.

"Blue Diamond, leave this planet! This colony will not be completed!"

A voice rang out over the crowd. Panicked murmurs swept over the crowd as everyone tried to look in every direction at once. Steven stepped out of the Palanquin and joined the crowd, trying to pinpoint where the voice had come from… and soon getting his answer.

Landing in front of the Palanquin was none other than Rose Quartz and her Pearl, looking ready to attack. Steven took an instinctive step back, even as he remembered that he was in no danger. Still, the fire that both of them had flaring in their eyes was more than a little intimidating.

"We are the Crystal Gems!" both of them recited, perfectly in sync.

Gems— Quartzes, by the looks of them— immediately rushed the pair, but they stood no chance against the rebels. White Pearl charged, nimbly dodging an attack then destroying the form of her opponent with a single slash of her sword. Rose Quartz was doing even better, were that possible. She seemed to only dash past her attackers, before their forms disappeared in a plume of smoke behind her.

And it was like neither of them were really trying. Even when the giant three-Ruby fusion rushed them, Rose leapt forward and forced the Rubies apart with a single, well-placed attack.

White Pearl, meanwhile, was closing in on the Sapphire, who wasn't moving from her spot. In fact, she seemed completely undisturbed by the fate awaiting her. But the same could not be said of her single remaining Ruby guard.

The Ruby came screaming at them, drawing White Pearl's attention for the split second needed for the Ruby to tackle Sapphire away from White Pearl's attack. But then something happened that neither Steven nor anyone else in the Vision expected. Ruby collided with was a flash of light—

— and then Ruby and Sapphire were gone.

Standing there instead was _Garnet._

The same three eyes, the same cube-shaped hair, the same gems two gems embedded in their hands... Even though they— no, _she_ — looked wildly different, Steven knew it was her.

But she was… pretty, Steven noticed, with some degree of alarm. She shouldn't have been, since she looked she'd been unfortunately splattered by pink and blue paint, but she _was_. Her hair especially looked like cotton candy.

Steven walked through the crowd to get a better look at her. The current Garnet was always serious and unflappable, but this one was clearly panicked and confused. The awe and surprise faded from her face as she looked wildly at the Gems closing in around her, and down at the two gems in the palms of her hands.

"Wha… What? What is this…? Is this…?"

It seemed all this was too much, even for her. There was another flash and Ruby and Sapphire were thrown apart, tumbling onto the ground. It was then that the gathered crowd's mood turned from confusion to anger. There were murmurs at first, but they soon grew in volume and intensity.

"Unbelievable!"

"Disgusting!"

"This is unheard of!"

The crowd wasn't simply angry; they were _furious_. And for what? Ruby was trying to save Sapphire. Surely that was good? The fusion had clearly been an accident. But nobody seemed to care, as they continued to scream and jeer.

Blue Diamond's voice cut through the din.

"The rebels have fled. Sapphire, this is not what you predicted!"

Sapphire spoke, but her calm, collected tone was now jittery and unsure. Steven saw her eye sweeping across everything in front of her. "This was… not what I Saw. I don't know what happened, I…"

"No! It was me!" Ruby had stepped, presenting herself to Blue Diamond.

"Clearly." Blue Diamond's voice was heavy with disdain and anger. "How _dare_ you fuse with a member of my Court?"

Ruby flinched at her words. "I-I'm sorry… Please, forgive me…"

"You will be broken for this!"

Steven felt his throat tighten and his heart skip a beat. What was Mom doing? The fusion was an accident! Ruby had only been trying to protect Sapphire, an important member of _her_ Court! Why was she acting like _this_?

The crowd began to converge on the pair. But before they could do anything, Sapphire grabbed Ruby by the wrist and ran, darting through the crowd and disappearing off the edge of the Arena.

Steven ran after them, through the ghosts of Gems long gone, and watched them fall, fall, fall until they passed through the clouds below. He spun around, breathing heavily, and the world began to shift and change once more. His surroundings grew brighter, and the once flawless architecture began to crumble. Gems disappeared— Blue Diamond disappearing last— until Steven was back in reality, standing dangerously close to the edge of the arena.

Thankfully, Amethyst was holding him by the back of his shirt. Steven didn't really like the Crystal Gems touching him, but Amethyst seemed pretty cool, and he couldn't be annoyed if she'd stopped him from falling to his death.

Garnet had remained further away, but now approached him. "You saw it."

It wasn't a question.

Steven felt his mouth tremble a little before any words came out. "Why did Mom— Why did Blue Diamond order that?"

"Want to shatter Ruby?" Amethyst shrugged. "'Cause that's just who she was, dude."

"But Diamonds protect Homeworld! And all Gems!" Steven protested. "Wanting to shatter a Gem for what was an accident…"

"The Diamonds protect themselves," Garnet replied simply. "Anything that threatens their hold on power, they will try to eliminate."

"But that's not what Pearl told me."

"She has a very… skewed view of Homeworld."

"Yeah. If by 'skewed' ya mean 'completely messed up'," Amethyst added under her breath.

Steven didn't respond. He folded his arms across his chest and turned away, thinking very hard. There had to be something he was missing, something that must have _made_ his mother act like that.

Maybe she knew… somehow, that Ruby and Sapphire would rebel? But… they had both seemed rather loyal. Even Sapphire herself had seemed resigned to her fate at the hands of White Pearl, and completely surprised by her fusion with Ruby.

Not very rebel-like.

Maybe… Maybe his Vision had been wrong, or he'd misheard something.

(But Pearl had told him his Visions were always completely accurate. Always.)

But still. It was _fusion_. Fusion was— it was horrid. So maybe... maybe Ruby had deserved punishment, even for just a small mistake.

But… shattering?

Steven shook his head.

"Let's head back," Garnet said as she walked up behind Steven. "Back to the Temple."

"Yeah. Ya can mull over the Diamonds' terribleness there," Amethyst added, giving him a light shove in the direction of the stands.

Steven slowly began to walk towards the warp pad, still deep in thought and ruminating on what he had just seen, Garnet and Amethyst following silently behind him.

Unlike with most of his Visions, he had just gotten many more questions, rather than answers.

oOo

Authors' Note: Just a heads up for anyone who may have missed our announcement in the Bloop Prequel: we now have an official blog! Check it out at the tumblr TeamFadedBlue if you're interest. We have stuff like answered questions, fanart and story-relevant reblogs.


	16. Discussions

**Chapter Sixteen: Discussions**

Amethyst still hated guard duty.

She also had something stuck up her nose, which didn't help. She didn't know what it was, just that is was stubbornly stuck in place and refused to budge no matter how much Amethyst picked.

She was attempting her latest dig when she noticed Greg was watching her from his place next to the cage.

Truth be told, she was still sore over the whole spying-and-lying thing he'd done. But she had already aired her feelings to Rose, who had said that would have to wait until they had decided what to with Steven.

Not what Amethyst had wanted to hear, by any stretch.

"Ya need somethin'?" Amethyst asked in the most neutral tone she could muster.

"Just wondering if you're digging for buried gold," Greg answered, laughing weakly. "Or are you doing brain surgery?"

Amethyst did her best to resist laughing. "Just something stuck up there," she answered. "Happens something when I _really_ get into a shapeshifting session. Sometimes things get caught where they shouldn't."

"Well, why don't you just shapeshift to get it out?"

Amethyst blinked. "'Cause this is more fun," she said. "More of a challenge."

But even as she said that, she found that she was quickly growing frustrated with her latest challenge and just wanted whatever it was out. So using some strategic shapeshifting, including shrinking her hand into a precision tool, Amethyst reached up her nose and easily grabbed hold of the unwanted item.

With a quick application of force, she pulled out what ended up being a very shiny, very smooth rock.

"Aw, yeah! Got something cool this time!" Amethyst jumped up from her seat and trotted over to the front of the cage. "Hey, Steven! Take a look."

But as she got around to the front of the cage, she saw that Steven was sitting in a far corner of the cage and staring at the blank wall. He'd been like that ever since they'd brought him back from the Sky Arena.

With a glance over at Greg, Amethyst asked, "Yo, dude. You okay?"

Steven shrugged silently.

"You sure bud?" Greg asked. "Nothing you wanna… talk about?"

For a moment it looked like Steven wasn't going to say anything, but he slowly turned to look at them and asked in a very solemn voice, "Dad? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Shtoo-ball. Anything you need."

Steven nodded slowly. "Do you think Mom ever… hurt or… killed anyone?"

Greg seemed rather taken aback by the question. Amethyst sighed, but didn't say anything yet, wanting to see how the human would respond.

"There was… some stuff your Mom never liked to talk about. I never pressed her for details."

"Why not?" Steven asked.

Greg sighed heavily. "Blue and I talked about tons of important stuff. Music, comic books, grass between your toes, y'know, _feelings_. We both made a lot of mistakes when we were young. I thought disco was coming back, she commanded a war... I think she felt like she needed to confess everything to me, but I told her, 'The past is the past. All that matters to me is who you are now.' And who she was, was an incredible, loving bei—"

"Oh, _come on_ ," Amethyst snorted.

Steven shot her a sharp look. "I just want to know what was going on."

"Garnet and I _told_ ya what was going on," Amethyst retorted. "Blue Diamond was gonna have Ruby shattered caused she and Sapphire fused. Pretty simple."

"But it's _not_ ," Steven said. "Why did Mom want to shatter Ruby?"

Amethyst couldn't believe what she was hearing. Steven seemed to be a lot denser than she had originally thought. "'Cause they fused. It's pretty straight forward."

But Steven just shook his head. "No! There's– there has to be more! Mom would never shatter someone for that was clearly an accident." He looked over at Greg. "Right, Dad?"

Greg audibly gulped as he rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, well… Blue and I didn't really talk that much about her life on Homeworld."

"Yeah, cause if she'd told ya all the stuff she _did_ do, ya wouldn't have stuck around," Amethyst said.

"Mom doesn't shatter Gems!" Steven yelled. "She protected them, like a good ruler!"

"You need to get a clue," Amethyst shot back.

"No, you do! You never even met her!"

"Yeah, neither have you!" Amethyst shouted back. "At least I _know_ people who have met her!"

"Now," said Greg, " _I_ did know Blue, and—"

Amethyst threw up her hands in frustration. "No you didn't! You act like she was some sweet, sugary human, but all she really _wanted_ was to control everyone and shatter 'em and drive 'em insane!"

"YOU'RE LYING!" Steven screamed. "THE CRYSTAL GEMS LIED TO YOU AND NOW YOU'RE LYING TO ME!"

"Wow," Amethyst said, tossing the rock near the cage, and watching with some satisfaction as Steven flinched when it bounced away. "You're a lot dumber than I thought you were."

"You're dum—"

"Hey, that's enough! Both of you!"

It was Greg, who had stepped in between the two of them. He gave Amethyst a hard look before turning back to Steven. "Being a ruler might have meant that Blue had to do things that… she might not have wanted to. But none of us were there. None of us can know for sure, and none of us can know how she felt about it."

"Garnet was…" Amethyst muttered under breath.

Greg ignored her. "But _I_ did know Blue. And know that she was a sweet and gentle soul during her time on Earth. And that's the person she was when she had you."

Steven nodded slowly. "Yeah… Okay, Dad. Thanks."

Amethyst however, rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You two can keep deluding yourselves about the truth if you want." She turned her back and began slouching off.

"Just you wait," Steven said evenly. "You're wrong about Mom. And once I can use all my powers, and access Mom's records, I'll be able to show all of you the _truth_."

"Yeah, whatever dude," Amethyst muttered under her breath. "Maybe you'll find a list of her victims."

She sighed heavily, and the Temple door opened. She stomped through it without a backwards glance.

She was done with this. She hated guard duty, and she didn't want to be stuck with two _stupid_ , ignorant humans.

* * *

Under a dome of an enchanted roof colored like the night sky, stood an array of fountains. The endless rush of eternal waterfalls, ever shifting, ever moving. Elegance and serenity, a place of peace in the chaos of Earth. Pearl let it all rush over her, putting her mind at ease as she fell into the meditative rhythm of sharpening her blades.

And then came a loud _splash, splash, splash, splash-!_

Pearl paused in her sharpening, annoyance flashing across her face—

—and immediately dropping everything when she saw Amethyst stomping across the water towards her, the picture of anger and dejection.

"Amethyst? Are you alright?" she asked. "Did one of my swords fall down into your room again?"

" _Noooo_ ," Amethyst moaned, flopping down dramatically onto her belly.

Pearl fought back on the urge to tell her to mind her gem. It was just water, after all.

"What's wrong?" Pearl asked.

In answer, she received a long bubbly gurgle.

There was another, much softer splashing noise, and Pearl looked up to see Garnet approaching across the water platform. Her appearance just then might have been a coincidence, but Pearl thought it was most likely not. If Garnet was using her Future Vision to help comfort Amethyst at the appropriate time, then it was probably quite serious.

As Garnet came, sat down, and crossed her legs, Pearl reached out and laid a gentle hand on Amethyst's shoulder. "Amethyst, what happened?"

Amethyst rolled over on her, spat out a mouthful of water, and glared resolutely at the false sky. "Steven."

Pearl's free hand clenched. "Did he do something to you? If he did, I swear that I'll—"

"No, no," Amethyst groaned. "Ugh— It's not— He's just so— so _STUPID!"_

"Stupid?" Pearl echoed.

She had to admit, she hadn't considered Steven Universe in those terms. Whatever his true identity, he was a Diamond, and Pearl had been viewing him with the wariness that deserved. Diamonds had maintained their order for millennia with many tools, not the least of which was their keen intelligence.

"Yeah. Stupid," Amethyst muttered.

"Tell us what happened," Garnet said.

Amethyst still stared up at the dark black ceiling. Pearl stroked her forehead in gentle encouragement.

"I dunno," Amethyst said. "Steven and Greg were talking— about Blue Diamond. So I told him what she was _really_ like, and he started yelling at me, and said I didn't know what I was talking about, and that you'd just _lied_ to me and—"

Pearl was trying to remain calm, but couldn't stop the indignant, "We have not!"

"I know, I know." Amethyst sighed again, sounding thoroughly put-out. Pearl ran her hand through her friend's hair, and Amethyst's face relaxed a bit.

Pearl smiled, and continued combing, feeling the softness against her fingers. Pearl had been somewhat displeased when she'd discovered that Amethyst had copied Mr. Universe's hairstyle. Since discovering the human's betrayal, Amethyst herself had complained about how it was 'lame'. But now Pearl had to admit, a quartz's traditional mane suited her rather well.

Eventually Amethyst calmed down enough to continue, "I know you guys wouldn't lie to me. And I've seen the murals and the monsters and junk. But I tried to explain it to Steven, and he just wouldn't believe _any_ of it. I don't get it. He _Saw_ what Blue Diamond tried to do to Garnet... Why is he acting like it's so impossible that she was _bad_?"

"It's a painful truth. That makes it hard to accept." At Garnet's words, Amethyst made a scoffing noise at the back of her throat. Garnet was not perturbed. "We saw a lot of it, during the war. Even among those who joined us, there were many who could not accept how cruelly Homeworld treated its own people." One of her fists clenched. "Ruby… Even after Blue Diamond ordered her executed, she still wanted to go back…"

Garnet was staring down at the water, her expression stony, and Pearl ached on her behalf.

But as much as she wanted to lean forward and offer Garnet comfort, Pearl held herself back, turning over her friend's words. "You… really believe Steven Universe's story?"

A moment's pause.

Garnet nodded.

"Nobody's _that_ good an actor," Amethyst said.

Pearl stopped her stroking. It was easy enough for Amethyst to say. She hadn't encountered some of the spies which had infiltrated the rebellion.

But Garnet… Garnet was far more experienced than Amethyst. She was also more of a realist than Rose. If she thought Steven Universe was telling the truth—

Pearl shook her head. She just didn't understand why someone like _Blue Diamond_ would transform herself into an amnesiac human.

Then again, she also didn't understand why Blue Diamond would go to such lengths to trick a handful of rebels, when she could simply order her soldiers to overwhelm and shatter them outright.

Pearl pressed her eyes shut.

Even if they were right— even if Steven Universe wasn't the same being as Blue Diamond— they were in terrible danger. The threat had been looming over them every since the Red Eye's mysterious appearance, and the little Diamond turning up was just another confirmation. If Blue Diamond had been missing from Homeworld for twelve years (or even more, if she'd required time to have… _relations_ with a human), then no doubt people were wondering where she was. They'd be looking, searching. And if that search brought them to Earth…

They'd fought for this planet for so long. They'd fought so hard. They'd lost nearly _everything_.

Pearl refused to lose what little they had left.

"Rose thinks we should let Steven out," Amethyst said, and Pearl's eyes flew open. "She says that it's wrong to keep an innocent human child locked up in a cage."

"Rose was the one who told us to put him in the cage in the first place!" Pearl cried.

Garnet crossed her arms. "Her understanding of the situation has changed." She added, "Also, Rose's lion seems to like him."

"The lion is a _lion_ ," said Pearl. "He likes vomiting up hairballs!" But there was no real weight to her words, and everyone knew it.

Pearl stared down at the water beneath her.

There was a soft fluttering sound from above, and Pearl didn't have to look to know it was Rose. "I hope you don't mind me _dropping in_ ," she said, "but I heard my name."

"We're discussing Steven," said Garnet.

"Oh?"

A splashing noise as Amethyst sat up. "We think he's telling the truth about not being Blue Diamond," she said. "Even if he's being really _annoying_ about it."

"Ah." Rose's voice was deceptively light. "And you're all in agreement here?"

Pearl could practically feel the attention shift towards her. She lifted her chin a fraction. "...Yes."

Nobody said anything. They could all predict Pearl's coming 'but'. She let them stew for a moment, before obliging them.

"However, even if he does not possess his… mother's memories, that does not mean we should drop our guard." Now Pearl looked up, stood, and straightened, channeling the energy she'd once used for war councils. "He still possesses her powers, though they appear to be underdeveloped as of yet. He still subscribes to at least some of her beliefs."

"Those can be changed," said Garnet.

"Yes!" cooed Rose. "He's a _human_. That's so exciting! Humans— they're all about changing, adapting, _being_ —"

"Yes. But not _predictably_ ," said Pearl. "We have no guarantee that he'll be…" She groped around for the right word, and ended up just trailing off.

"We can still try," Rose said, her eyes glittering. "We can still teach him. Give him the chance to be something _extraordinary_."

Pearl felt a rush of _something_ then, and was reminded all over, why she loved Rose Quartz so much.

Her hope. Her optimism. Her passion. Her _spark_.

…which, admittedly, had the danger of lighting a fire and burning out of control. Mindful of that, Pearl said, "There's something else to consider."

"What?" said Amethyst, cocking her head.

"Perhaps Blue Diamond still is present," said Pearl, "but simply… trapped. Stuck inside the human body. Perhaps conscious, perhaps not. But if that body were ever destroyed…"

There was an uncomfortable silence filled only with the rushing of water.

Garnet was the first to break it. "Good thing I didn't actually rip him in half."

Amethyst chuckled. Pearl gave a wan smile.

Rose Quartz just sighed. "Good thing indeed. Nonetheless, they are valid points. We should not rush and put anyone in undue danger. Still, there is no harm in apologizing, and… and seeing if we can perhaps arrange for more comfortable living arrangements."

Pearl considered this, then nodded. "That seems… fair."

"Agreed." Garnet stood. Amethyst shot a thumbs up, and followed her lead.

There was a little more discussion about how to go about this. They would wait for morning, when Steven Universe would wake. Rose and Pearl would come to discuss terms. Since they did not want to have everyone present at once and intimidate him, it was decided those two would offer the best balance of opinions.

Pearl found herself smiling, despite herself. It had taken over five thousand years, but they were finally going to have peace negotiations with a Diamond.

* * *

The day outside was new and pink, and Rose felt light enough to float up among the clouds as if she were one of them.

As tempting a prospect as that was, she held herself down. The humans had a saying after all— something like 'don't count your eggs before they're laid'. Or perhaps it was about keeping chickens in a basket. Regardless of the exact phrasing, the meaning was clear. They should make sure the peace agreement was completed before getting giddy about it.

(But oh, was it hard.)

"Good morning!" Rose greeted, as she and Pearl stepped out the Temple.

Steven Universe, who had been drinking from a water bottle, stopped and blinked them. "Uh… hey."

"Where's Mr. Universe?" asked Pearl.

The half-human paused a moment before answering, as he almost always did when addressing Pearl. "Getting breakfast."

"We were hoping to speak with you both," said Rose. "Perhaps we should wait for him to return…?"

"Anything you want to say to him, you can say to me."

Pearl looked at her, and Rose had known her long enough to read her expression: she wanted them to go ahead. Rose herself wasn't so sure. If Steven was a human, he was a young and immature one, and his guardian would most likely want to be in a position to advise him.

But ignoring Steven Universe's desires would been a poor way to begin a peace accords. He had a right to make his own decisions.

(Besides. If Rose Quartz was being honest with herself, she had to admit, rather selfishly, that she didn't want to be around Mr. Universe any more than she had to.)

Rose nodded. "Very well. We'll begin."

She sat down on the cool stone floor, crossing her legs. A moment later, Pearl followed her lead, though remained in a squat, balanced on the balls of her feet. They gave Steven a moment to put away his water bottle and compose himself. He seemed quite taken aback by how quickly this discussion had come upon him.

"Okay," he said, frowning a little. "What's this about?"

Rose took a deep breath, and said, "We want to apologize."

Steven Universe's mouth dropped open, all surprise and suspicion. "Huh?"

"We wanted to say that we are sorry," Pearl clarified.

Rose was very proud of her. She knew how hard those words must have been to say. But Pearl said them, and kept her face perfectly blank as she did. Any of her distaste was carefully hidden.

"I…" Steven Universe said, his mouth opening and closing.

"We apologize for hurting you and your friends," said Rose. "Our treatment of you has been poor, and we wish to begin fixing our mistakes."

Steven shook his head. "Wait… you did all that stuff, and now you're saying… _sorry_?"

" _Clearly_ ," Pearl said, not quite able to stop the sarcasm slipping into her voice.

"We did not understand the situation," said Rose. "We truly thought you were Blue Diamond, and feared what you would do to us, and to the Earth. This isn't an excuse; it is an explanation. But from our observations, we can see that you have been honest, Steven Universe."

"Oh." The boy looked down, and for several long moments the only sound was the surf as he seemed to turn these words over in his mind. Then he looked up. When he spoke, his words had a slightly rigid quality to them, like a phrase rehearsed. "Then I accept your apology."

Rose smiled.

"So… you're gonna let me out now, right?"

"Not quite yet," said Pearl.

Steven Universe scowled, and opened his mouth to say something.

Rose raised a hand. "We will soon. We just want to ensure that we… understand you fully. In the meantime, we'll strive to make things more comfortable. Let you relieve yourself at the car wash, make sure you have access to more clothing and comforts. Help you reach out to your friends, so they can visit you. Even stay with you, if you're all in agreement." Steven Universe's eyes widened with joy, and Rose knew their offer was on the right track. "Additionally, Garnet suggested that we begin going on excursions together. To various Gem temples. A chance for you to stretch your legs, and learn a little more about Gem history."

"... _Your_ version of Gem history," said Steven Universe, carefully.

"Yes," said Pearl, and there was a challenge in her voice.

A few days ago— or even just the day before— that would have sparked an argument. But now, Steven Universe restrained himself. He leaned back a little, his brow furrowed. The sky outside darkened as a cloud passed overhead.

"O- _kay_ ," he said at last. "That seems… fair, I guess. I mean, there's nothing wrong with just… hearing you guys out."

Then Steven Universe stuck his hand out between the bars and through the pink energy field.

The Crystal Gems blinked at it.

"What?" said Pearl. "But— The field is supposed to prevent Gems from— That— How long have you been able to _do_ that?"

Steven shrugged. "I figured it out the first night, actually. I just didn't want you guys seeing."

Pearl stared at him with a mixture of astonishment, frustration and— yes, _curiosity._

"Steven isn't a Gem," declared Rose. "He is half human."

And then, in deference to the traditional human custom, she reached out, grasped his hand, and shook it.

It did not last long, and the little Diamond pulled his hand back relatively quickly. But it had been done.

"So," said Steven. "Uh… what now?"

Rose said, "I think it's best we wait for your father to return. Then we can begin—"

"Wait," Pearl interrupted, lifting a finger. "Do you hear that?"

Rose paused. She did indeed. It was faint but…

Music.

"It's pretty," Steven said, cocking his head to listen.

"Yes," murmured Pearl.

It was indeed. In fact, more than pretty. It was _exquisite_. Light and pure and delicate, the notes filling Rose with a cool contentment. She blinked slowly. As the music grew louder, a part of her wanted nothing more than to sprawl out onto the ground and let it wash over her.

Another part of her was screaming that something was **_wrong_**.

The music was coming from the mouth of the cave. With momentous effort, Rose Quartz stood and turned towards it, and discovered the source.

Standing there, framed by stone, was a Pearl and a Lapis Lazuli. The Pearl held a flute to her lips. The Lapis's fists were balled, a dark mass of water hanging around her.

Neither of them looked happy.


	17. Jailbreak

Pearl knew that they would have only one chance at this, and she was determined not to waste it.

As they had planned, she and Lapis waited out from the coast for what felt like an eternity, but certainly couldn't have been more than an hour, judging from how the sun crept up the horizon behind them. From their position, they were hidden beneath the waves, but were still provided a good view of the Crystal Gem base.

And the cage that held Steven.

Lying next to Steven was Greg. The two woke up, and Pearl watched them go through some crude pantomime of a morning routine, with changing and Steven brushing his teeth by spitting into a bucket. The urge to come and rescue them right away was nearly overwhelming.

Pearl fought the desire. Even if they escaped unnoticed, the first place the Crystal Gems would check was the Palanquin, which Steven still could not activate. They could abandon it, and go on the run, but it would only be a matter of time before they were rediscovered.

They waited.

Eventually Greg ambled down the beach, presumably to get breakfast. He was so _close_ Pearl could have called out him. But it was better that he would be out of the way for this.

So they waited.

Eventually, the Temple door opened, and Rose Quartz and her Pearl came out.

Lapis shifted, clenching her fist. Pearl squeezed her hand, silent restraint and reassurance both. It would be cleaner to take all the Crystal Gems out at once.

So they waited.

… but no one else came out.

Pearl grew concerned. Rose Quartz was simply sitting on the floor, the Pearl at her side, the two in apparent conversation with Steven. Pearl had no idea why, or how long they would do so. It was possible that the other Crystal Gems would come join them eventually; it was equally possible that the two rebels already there would leave before that could happen, and Pearl and Lapis would be left waiting a very long time indeed. Taking out the Crystal Gem leader and her second-in-command would be better than nothing.

Pearl nodded. Under the cover of a wave, Lapis brought them up on the beach. They moved quickly, pressing themselves up against the cliff face where they were less likely to be spotted. Lapis flew, and Pearl walked with the lightness only a Pearl could muster, and so the two of them made almost no noise on the shifting sand.

There came a slope which lead up to the Crystal Gem base, and the pair stopped at the bottom of it. Pearl tapped the side of her head, indicating that it was time. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated.

With a mental push, she felt her physical form shift, her ears sealing themselves off and vanishing. Instantly, all the beach sounds— the crash of the waves, the call of gulls, the distant murmur of conversation from the cave— died. Lapis's brow furrowed as she too cut off all hearing.

Pearl took a moment to center herself.

She did not want to attack the Crystal Gems. Not really. It was true that their rebellion had sown much strife, but despite what Pearl had taught Steven in Homeworld's name, she did not believe they were evil. Simply misguided. She much would have preferred to leave them alone.

Her hand touched the hairclip which was keeping the bangs out of her eyes for the mission. It was shaped like a little gold star. Greg had bought it for her years ago. On her wrist was another gift. The plastic bracelet that, even when locked away, Steven had ensured was returned to her, along with a message: " _love you_."

If it was a choice between the Crystal Gems and Steven, then it was no choice at all.

Pearl closed her eyes, and summoned an object from her gem. Lapis raised her hand, and pulled a giant globe of water from the ocean, casting a dark shadow across the beach.

Long, slender, and finely carved, the object Pearl held was a flute. She raised it to her lips, and began to play. She could not hear the music, but she could _feel_ the vibration in her lips and fingers, thrumming through her form.

So armed, Pearl began up the hill, Lapis following in her wake.

They reached the cave's mouth.

The second they noticed, all three of the cave's occupants were on their feet. Steven, his face equal parts surprise, joy, and confusion. Rose Quartz and the Pearl, instantly wary. Everyone was talking, their mouths opening and closing, but Pearl could hear nothing of what they said.

Lapis stepped forward, and the water streamed through the air around her, rushing at the Crystal Gems.

The rebels dodged out of the way, but just barely. Their movements were sluggish, their expressions vague.

If Pearl's mouth hadn't been otherwise occupied, she would have allowed herself a small smile. The flute had been designed as an aid to relaxation. Long ago, back when Blue Diamond had still held celebrations and balls for her Court, Pearl had often been instructed to play it for the guests' amusement, which left all who heard it amicable and content. A reward for new colonies founded and battles won.

These were no revellers looking for a chance to unwind. They were warriors, defending themselves, and they would not fall under the music's sway so easily. But they couldn't resist it completely either.

The Pearl lunged at Lapis, but she was slow. She came close to stabbing Lapis in the abdomen with her summoned spear, but she was not alert enough to predict Lapis flying out of the way. The Pearl made a few jabs, but they were all off. Lapis easily shoved her away with a jet of water, slamming her into a wall.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Pearl saw Steven on his feet, swaying a little as he fought the music's effects. He waved his arms, mouth moving as he called out to her. Pearl knew he must be so scared. For now, the only reassurance she could offer was a nod.

As she was distracted, Rose Quartz snatched the flute away.

Or nearly did. Pearl's reactions were sharp, and she twirled on one foot, twisting the instrument out of Rose Quartz's grasp. The Quartz jumped into the air, floating easily above Pearl's head as she tried to grab it from above, but Pearl ducked out of reach.

The other Pearl came to her Master's aid, bearing down on Pearl with her spear. It grazed Pearl's shoulder, pain striking up through her arm, nearly making her lose her grip. She gasped, and the music stopped.

The other Pearl shook herself, and grabbed the flute.

Water smacked into both Pearls, sending them tumbling. It was a bit of a surprise, but Lapis had judged the force well. While it slammed the renegade to the floor it didn't hurt Pearl at all, giving her a chance to readjust her grip and resume playing.

The renegade had been struggling to get up. But at the music, she stopped bothering, her expression melting into a contented smile.

Water collected into the air, and Lapis froze it into a blade of ice.

Lapis sent it flying right at the renegade.

The renegade blinked at it, not bothering to move.

Rose Quartz jumped in front of her Pearl, raising a shield just in time.

There was a shock-wave as the ice hit, sending shards flying in every direction. Pearl felt a few stab into her skin, but ignored the pain. She had to keep playing.

Rose Quartz staggered back. Her shield was gone, and she hadn't summoned another one. She looked dazed.

She didn't even flinch when the second blade of ice plunged into her chest.

She exploded into pink smoke, her gemstone falling to the stone floor.

Even without hearing, the scream was plain on the Pearl's face. Horror cut through the music's euphoric effects, and she pulled herself to her feet, rushing to grab her comrade's gem— only to be buffeted away by a wave. Lapis pinned her to the wall, and this time left her there, frozen in ice.

Two enemies down. Pearl itched to release Steven.

She had barely had the thought when the Temple door opened, and out rushed reinforcements. The fusion and the Amethyst.

It became immediately apparent that they weren't dazed by the music. Their eyes were too sharp, their movements too fast, their attentions completely focused. The sapphire-fusion must have predicted the tactic, and so both she and the Amethyst had removed their ears before attacking, just as Lapis and Pearl had.

That hardly mattered.

Amethyst lunged at Pearl with her whip, but the cave was filled with water. Lapis easily picked the runt up in a massive liquid fist, and any threat the Amethyst posed was gone. The fusion lasted a little longer, but Lapis clearly had her in hand as well.

Pearl stopped playing. The music was unnecessary now. She stored the flute away, and pulled out a laser knife from her gem.

As Lapis set herself to squeezing the Amethyst until her physical form was destroyed, Pearl waded to Steven's cage, and got to work cutting through the bars.

She was so focused on her task that she'd cut through two of them when she realized Steven was waving at her, trying to get her attention, mouth moving, his expression panicked.

Pearl released her shape shifting, and let out a sigh of relief.

"— ARE YOU DOING?" Steven was yelling, and that relief evaporated.

"Rescuing you, my Steven," Pearl said. She readjusted her grip, and began cutting through the third bar. "Do not worry, I shall have you out soon."

Steven said something else, but his voice was drowned out by the crash of waves. A repetitive _thud, thud, thud, thud_ , as Lapis slammed the fusion into the wall, again and again and again.

"Stop!" the renegade Pearl was screaming. "Please! Let her go!"

For a moment, Lapis stopped.

She said, "Like how you let _me_ go?

She slammed the fusion against the wall.

"Like how you let Steven go!?"

She slammed the fusion even harder, cracks spreading across the wall from the impact point.

Pearl cut through another bar. Almost there. Soon Steven would have enough room to escape.

There was a flash of light from behind her. A double scream, from a Ruby and a Sapphire, a wave of heat and cold.

The fusion must've broken apart.

"Stop!" Steven cried, and he was on the brink of tears.

Another bar clattered to the floor. Pearl smiled. Her Steven was free.

He barreled past her.

Pearl spun, and the image which greeted her was unpleasant.

The Ruby stood on unsteady feet, only a few steps away from the warp pad, but refusing to flee, despite the rebel Pearl yelling at her to run. She was clutching a blue stone to her chest. Her face was a mask of fury. The air around her was thick with steam, and the water at her feet was boiling.

Left unchecked, Lapis's weapon would evaporate.

The cool expression on Lapis's face made it clear she had no intent of letting that happen.

She pulled up a long, thin strand of water into the air, twisting it and twisting it, faster, and faster, until it formed a drill.

She raised an arm, and brought it down towards the Ruby—

— and Steven jumped in front of it, a living shield.

"STOP!"

Lapis just barely managed to stop the water from drilling through his head. She recoiled, wings flapping furiously. "Steven! What are you _doing_?!"

"What are _you_ doing?"

"Saving you!"

Lapis looked equal parts angry and confused, but Pearl was neither. She should have expected something like this. Steven was not an experienced Diamond, accustomed to battle. How many times had he brought injured animals home to the Palanquin, everything from baby birds to wild lynxes, begging Pearl to help heal them?

But surely even he had to realize that was different from actively protecting the Gems who'd attacked and imprisoned him.

"Look," Steven said, glancing at the Ruby, who was staring wide-eyed at this turn of events. "This is all unnecessary."

" _Unnecessary_ ," Lapis repeated, the water in the cave roiling white. "They locked you up!"

"I know," Steven said, "I know—"

Her Steven was kind-natured and sentimental, but not willfully foolish, Pearl knew. If he was defending the Crystal Gems, he surely had a reason. She came to his side, and asked him to explain.

"It's just— Well, I've been talking with the Crystal Gems, and they're actually… kinda… _nice._ I know they've made mistakes—"

("Oh, _please_ ," the other Pearl began.

"Quiet," snapped the Ruby.)

"— but they actually apologized for what they did to me, and they were talking about letting me go when you came in here and I don't think you should hurt them!"

There was silence.

Then Lapis said, "I can't believe this."

"Lapis," Pearl said, quiet.

Lapis didn't even glance at her. The water drill began to spin again, this time twisting around Steven to come at the Ruby from the side.

"I said stop!" Steven cried.

"Sorry, Steven," Lapis said.

Steven drew himself to his full height. "Lapis Lazuli! Am I your Diamond?"

And again the water stopped, this time less than an inch from the Ruby's face. She didn't dare move.

Lapis opened her mouth. "Yes, but—"

"Am I _your Diamond?"_

"Yes."

"Then _stop_."

Lapis sagged. The water dropped to the floor with a splash.

The Ruby took a step towards Steven. Very softly she said, "Thank you."

The other Pearl was still frozen to the wall. Pearl tapped Steven on the shoulder, and silently pointed this out.

"Her too," Steven said.

Lapis scowled, doing nothing.

"Lapis!"

Lapis glanced at the ice and it began to melt, dropping the Pearl to her feet.

"Thank you," Steven breathed.

"Of course," Lapis replied, an icy edge to her voice. "My _Diamond_."

The Pearl didn't say thank you, however. Instantly, she set to finding her fallen comrades, Ruby joining her. With all the water now streaming out of the cave's mouth, it was not an easy task, but they managed it. Eventually the Pearl came up, clutching a pink stone in one hand, and a purple in the other, horror and grief etched across her face.

She said, "They're cracked."

Steven's eyes opened wide in horror, as Pearl herself tightly pursed her lips. Her intent hadn't been for any of the Crystal Gems to get _cracked_.

"No!" The Ruby cried as she ran over to the Pearl. "Rose! Amethyst!" She gritted her teeth as her grip on her fusion partner's gem tightened. "Can they be healed?!"

The other Pearl ran her thumbs across both gems. "Yes, I believe so. The cracks don't look too bad."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" The Ruby yelled as she ran towards the warp pad. "Let's go! What's the hold up?"

The Pearl didn't answer directly, only letting her gaze slip from the gems in her hands to Steven and back again.

"I'll go with you," Steven said firmly. "You won't have to take your eyes off of me."

The Pearl still didn't say anything, her eyes now darting between Steven, Lapis, and Pearl herself.

"We'll _all_ go," Steven added, sensing the Pearl's unasked question. "We won't try anything." He turned to face the two of them. "Right?"

"Of course, my Steven," Pearl answered, even though she wasn't sure about this. If the three of them were to leave now, it was unlikely the Pearl or Ruby would try to chase after them. And the time needed to heal and let their companions regenerate their forms meant that they would have an advantage in time as well.

But regardless, she followed Steven's lead, as she always did.

Steven looked over at Lapis who said nothing, only returning his steady gaze, before finally nodding curtly. Pearl was glad. She didn't want Lapis to try anything... rash.

"Okay. Let's go," Steven said to the two remaining Crystal Gems.

Ruby practically leapt to the warp pad, tapping her foot impatiently and stroking the sapphire she still held to her chest. The Pearl's brow furrowed as she hesitated before moving. She clearly didn't like this arrangement. She knew just as well as Pearl did that they had the advantage. That Lapis could, at any moment, choose to resume her attack, and defeat them even more thoroughly. But she must have known how limited her options were, as she slowly nodded before carefully walking back to the warp pad.

Steven, Lapis, and Pearl followed her. When all of them were in place, the Pearl activated the warp pad and they were swept away in the stream.

* * *

It felt weird being back at the Fountain. As soon as the warp stream disappeared, Steven could see the grey walls and the star-shaped archway. His stomach began to twist and turn.

This was where all this had really started. And now they were back.

The five of them tread silently down the short path through the garden. The sweet smell of flowers in bloom followed them into the Fountain, creating an odd disconnect between the pleasant smell and the dire reason they were there.

The other Pearl walked over to the Fountain, Steven stopping a few feet behind her. Lapis and Pearl remained even further back, near the archway. The Ruby stood next to the Pearl, half her attention on the three of them and the other half on Amethyst and Rose Quartz's gems.

The Pearl leaned over into the Fountain and submerged the two cracked gems. She visibly relaxed looking, her shoulders slumping as she muttered something under her breath.

"They're healed." Her voice wavered as she spoke, wiping the corner of one of her eyes. "They're going to be okay..."

"Good, good," the Ruby breathed, her form slacking against the Fountain. She buried her head in the Pearl's waist, and the Pearl responded by stroking her hair, a surprisingly tender touch. "We just gotta wait for them to regenerate."

"So... They're going to be okay?" Steven asked, taking a few cautious steps forward.

The other Pearl and the Ruby turned, looking surprised, as if they had forgotten Steven was there. The Ruby nodded curtly. "Yeah. They are."

Steven let go of a breath he hadn't even been aware he was holding.

They were going to be okay. That was good. While his opinions on the Crystal Gems were still rather mixed, he had been afraid Pearl and Lapis's attack had done—

He stopped, his train of thought instantly derailing. He hurriedly turned around, almost tripping over himself in the process.

Pearl and Lapis had come to rescue him. They were _here_.

 _Now._

With barely another thought acknowledged, Steven rushed over to the archway, over to _them_. His arms were outstretched when he broke into a run. He tripped on his way up the stairs and fell into Pearl's embrace, crying uncontrollably.

"Y-you came— You came for me..." he sobbed, futilely rubbing at his eyes to try and clear his vision.

" _Shh, shh..._ It's okay, it's okay," Pearl cooed softly into his ear. He could feel her gently kiss the top of his head. "I am here now, my Steven." Her voice began to quake and tremble. Steven could feel the gentle drops of her tears landing on the top of his head. "I am here," she repeated softly. "Everything is going to be okay now."

They pulled away from each other, though Pearl kept her arms around him. She was smiling, bigger and wider than Steven had ever seen before. He also noticed her eyes were red, and that tears were still rolling down her cheeks. But he also noticed something else.

Steven smiled. "You look really nice with that hair clip."

"Of course," she replied, her smile seeming to grow even larger. "I needed to look my best for when we were reunited."

He laughed, and then felt one of Pearl's hands move to rest on his shoulder. Realizing what she was asking, Steven nodded at her. Pearl carefully pulled down the neck of Steven's shirt and examined his gem. She gently ran her fingers over it, checking for any cracks or other imperfections.

It felt a little odd, as it always did, when someone touched his gem. But it also felt comforting, the easy press against his facets, the gentleness when her fingers occasionally slipped off and touched his bare skin. It reminded him of when he was younger, when he would fall from the monkey bars at the park or lose his balance on a freshly mopped floor in the apartment. Pearl would rush over and check over every inch of his gem, to make sure it was alright.

When she was done, Pearl removed her hand and put it back around Steven, before hugging him close once again.

"Oh, my Steven..." she said softly. "I am so glad you are safe. We both are."

Steven pulled away again, this time looking at Lapis, who was noticeably _not_ looking at him. Instead she was just staring off into the distance, lips thinly pressed together, her eyes narrowed and focused.

A little unsure what to do, Steven said, "Hey, Lapis." Her eyes flicked over to him, but her expression did not change. He gulped before continuing, "Thanks for coming for me."

She continued to look at him, before her expression softened. She didn't smile, but she did put a gentle hand on Steven's head and tussled his hair. "Yeah. It's good to have you back, Steven."

"You have been eating well, yes?" Pearl said, drawing Steven's attention away from the perturbed Lapis. "And you have been sleeping regularly?" She paused a moment, before adding, "You have not been bathing. I can smell that."

Steven chuckled, unable to really believe that Pearl was bringing this up _now,_ of all times. "Yeah, I didn't really have much of a chance to do that lately."

Pearl nodded and smiled, wiping the corners of her eyes. "Of course. Then when we return to the Palanquin, I shall draw a bath for you. I think that would be rather nice, yes?"

Before Steven could respond however, another voice broke in.

"You're not going anywhere. _Any_ of you."

Steven felt Pearl's arms tighten around him with every step the other Pearl took towards them.

"Pearl..." It was the Ruby, who was still holding onto her fusion partner's gem. Her eyes kept moving from the other Pearl over to the three of them. "Don't do anything rash."

"I'm not," she replied simply, her eyes never leaving them. "I'm just telling them that they're not going anywhere. Not before Rose reforms."

"You cannot keep us here," Pearl said. "We are leaving."

The Pearl waved her hand in front of her gem and her spear was back in her hand.

Lapis stepped forward, watery wings sprouting from her back. "Don't make me regret letting you go," she intoned.

"You don't have any weapons here," the other Pearl said. She smirked, "Unless you want to try using the healing water again."

"I could bring an _ocean_ here in a matter of minutes."

"I'd _love_ to see you try and get off the ground before I got you."

"Pearl!" the Ruby shouted.

"Lapis!" Pearl hissed sharply.

Before any of them could say anything else, bright light flashed behind the other Pearl. She turned around and Steven saw what— or rather _who_ it was: Rose Quartz's gem had risen into the air, glowing. She was reforming. First her towering figure. Then her mane of giant pink curls, now tied into a loose braid. Finally her dress, hugging around her form then flaring at the hips. It seemed to have a lower cut on her now visible back, compared to her old form.

The light faded, and the newly regenerated Rose Quartz floated gently to the ground.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and turned to look at all of them. First Steven, Pearl, and Lapis, her expression unreadable. Then, at the Crystal Gems, relief washing over her. She strode over to the other Pearl before laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Hi," said Steven, struck by a sudden shyness and unease. He gave a small wave.

"What's going on?" Rose simply asked

"Steven let us go," the Ruby said. "Then we brought you here for healing."

"I'm making sure they're not leaving," the Pearl answered. "Not until you'd reformed."

"And she's reformed," Lapis said. "So we're leaving."

However, none of them moved.

No one at the Fountain did. They just looked at each, all equally unsure what came next.

Finally Rose took a few steps closer to them. Pearl hugged Steven tighter, but Rose didn't summon her shield. She just kept her gaze focused on them. It made Steven feel more than a little uncomfortable.

"You've risked a lot," Rose Quartz said. "All to rescue him."

"Of course," Pearl said simply.

"Why wouldn't we?" Lapis retorted. " _We_ don't abandon our own."

Rose nodded shortly, before turning her gaze completely on Pearl. "You care about him deeply."

"I care about him more then _anything_ ," she said firmly. "He is... _my_ Steven. _My family._ "

A full minute of silence followed as they all just watched each other. Again, it was Rose that broke the silence.

"Let's go back to the Temple. _All_ of us." She nodded at them again. "I think it's time we all talk."


	18. Together Breakfast

**Chapter Twenty: Together Breakfast**

Even though he knew it was selfish, Greg took his time grabbing breakfast that morning. He walked slowly along the beach, stretching out the aches he'd gotten from days of sleeping on a hard stone floor with only blankets to soften it. He chatted with Fryman's kid, Peedee, for a bit, who was stuck in that creepy fry costume and looked like he could use some cheering up. When at last he wandered into the Big Donut, Greg didn't order immediately, but let himself hang out with the employees a bit. If 'hang out' was the right term for a forty-something guy talking to a couple of teenagers.

But Sadie and Lars were a good sort, always super helpful and cheerful. Well, Sadie was, at least. Just then she was telling him about the hassle she'd gotten from the delivery guy that morning. Greg nodded along, making sympathetic noises in all the right places. It was nice, being able to focus on someone else's worries.

"But you got it all sorted out in the end, huh?" Greg said.

"Yeah, I guess," Sadie said with a shrug, as she refilled the napkin dispenser.

"And you helped her carry the stuff in, right Lars?"

Instantly the boy snapped to attention— and immediately tried to hide that, slumping back against the counter. "Huh? Oh yeah." He flexed his arms. "Me and my guns, always here to help out someone in need."

Sadie snorted. "Yeah. That's why you and your guns handled one box, while I took _three—_ "

"My box was heavier!"

Greg smiled a little to himself. He knew Lars' type well— had seen a lot of them on tour. Younger kids, desperate to look cool, trying to play things off. Tended to get all nervous in the presence of a rock star, and doing their best to make sure absolutely no one realized.

In reality, he was actually super transparent, but Greg had no intention of mortifying the kid. He'd figure it out eventually. For now, Greg pretended to ignore it, and tried to give Lars as much gentle encouragement as he could.

"So what'll you be having today?" Sadie asked, once the verbal sparring was finished.

"Oh? Huh." Greg shook his head, and tried to focus on the task at hand. He'd been grabbing something different every day, to help give Steven some variety. "What haven't I got yet?"

"Well, let's see. I love the strawberry cream filling, and the peanut butter glaze is delicious, or we've got some new cinnamon rolls. Or if you're feeling adventurous, the dog-nut's an option."

" _Nobody's_ adventurous enough for the dog-nut," muttered Lars.

Greg considered himself an experimenter when it came to food, but even as a big fan of both hot dogs and donuts, even he had to agree that putting them together was perhaps a culinary Frankenstein's monster.

… probably still worth a try, though.

Greg mulled over his options, selecting a couple of both the strawberry and the peanut butter, with a coffee for himself and an apple juice for Steven. As Lars got to work preparing his order, and Greg began fishing money out of his wallet, there was a chime as the door behind him opened. Sadie chirped, "Welcome to the Big Donut!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Greg caught a flash of blue and turned towards it. "Oh, hi Pearl, Steven—"

He dropped his coins.

" _Steven! Pearl!_ "

"Dad!" Steven cried, throwing himself at Greg. Greg picked the boy up, holding him to his chest, giving him the first proper hug they'd been able to have in _weeks_.

"Hello Greg," said Pearl, a small smile playing at her lips.

"Hey," said a third figure, waving a hand. Now that he'd noticed her, Greg recognised her from their video call as Lapis Lazuli.

He put Steven down— partly because his back couldn't carry weight like it used to, partly because he was feeling dizzy. "I— how— What are you three _doing here_?"

"We broke Steven out," said Lapis, while at the same time Steven said, "The Crystal Gems let me go!"

"It's complicated," Pearl added, after a moment.

Greg stared at them.

Then he pulled his son and Pearl alike into the most bone-crushing hug he could manage.

Steven laughed, hugging back, and even Pearl gave a little squeeze in return. Lapis didn't join in, but Greg saw her smiling at them. Greg felt like he could have cried with relief.

"Uhhhh," came Sadie's voice from behind them.

"' _Dad'_?" said Lars. "Mr. Universe has a _kid_?!"

Greg shook his head. There'd be time for explanations of all sorts, later. Right now, his family was safe, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Garnet came back into existence only moments after Sapphire reformed, from a kiss born of relief and desperation and joy, arms wrapped around herself in a hug, and tears burning her eyes.

The crying would've been a bit embarrassing, what with everyone watching her, but that was why Garnet wore glasses.

A fresh fusion always left Garnet feeling all... _tingly_ , full of electricity and energy, wanting to run and laugh and dance. It was no different this time, and while the joy of it was a relief after the earlier terror, it was also a bit distracting. With peace accords to begin shortly, Garnet was going to need to be calm and even-keeled.

Thankfully, she had some time to get ready. Steven had suggested they have a 'together breakfast', which as far as the Crystal Gems could discern, was just a regular breakfast, but one meant to symbolize coming together in the name of friendship.

Garnet didn't really care much for eating, and making food required what seemed like an annoying amount of preparation. However, she didn't begrudge this ritual. It certainly was more pleasant than the many Homeworld rituals surrounding treaties and peace-making, and far shorter besides. Sapphire had attended such events which had lasted _years_. An hour or so was nothing.

The Crystal Gems let Steven Universe and his… entourage go and prepare. Pearl was a little uncomfortable letting them be unsupervised, but it was important step towards cooperation, and Garnet could See no treachery on their part.

Besides, if Steven still intended them harm, he could have simply let Lapis Lazuli shatter them all.

But he hadn't. That deserved some trust.

The Crystal Gems sat their on the sand, none of them quite sure how to fill the wait.

"You changed your hair," said Pearl to Rose, picking up the end of her thick braid.

"Yes. And I gave myself stockings." In demonstration, she pulled back her dress and wiggled her toes, now covered in a sheer grey fabric. "I thought it was time for… a little change."

Behind her glasses, Garnet raised an eyebrow. Rose hadn't felt the need for a change of this particular kind for five thousand years. There was a distinct pink tinge to her cheeks, and Garnet realized she was _self-conscious_.

"Do you like it?" asked Rose.

"It's swell!" said Amethyst.

Garnet gave her a thumbs up.

Pearl turned the braid of hair over in her hands. "I love it," she decided after a moment, and pressed her lips to it.

Rose's face turned positively scarlet.

Garnet smirked, and decided to take pity on her. She said, "And yet not a single one of you has commented on _my_ outfit change."

Amethyst looked her up and down. "You… changed the direction your lightning bolt is pointing?"

"Yes," said Garnet. "And my pants are a slightly darker shade of purple."

"Big whoop," said Amethyst, Pearl snickering beside her. "And what about me, huh?"

"You moved your bow to your belt," Garnet said.

" _And_ changed my hair."

"And changed your hair."

Rose ruffled said hair. "Well, I think you both look wonderful."

"Yes," agreed Pearl, pressing herself into Rose's side. "And I'm just glad you're all _alright_."

They talked a bit more after that, but not much. For the most part, they were happy just to sit there on the sand, arms wrapped around each other, lost in their own thoughts, grateful they were all still alive and well.

Eventually Mr. Universe's vehicle came rolling up to them, its tires throwing up sand. They all got to their feet as it came to a stop.

"No, no, don't get up," said Steven, as he threw open the doors and jumped down onto the beach. "We're just going to sit down again anyways."

One by one, the others filed out of the van. Greg Universe, looking exceedingly awkward, but hopeful despite it. Lapis Lazuli, glaring daggers at everyone. And the Blue Pearl, wearing some blue human dress, expression unreadable, working busily to get things set up.

The others helped a bit— but by far, the Pearl did the majority of the work, laying out beach towels, setting out plates and cups and cutlery, bringing out dishes of food, brushing some sand away…

Pearl's eyes followed her the entire time. Rose reached out and gave one of her hands a comforting squeeze, one that Pearl didn't even seem to notice.

Garnet didn't need Future Vision to tell this would lead nowhere good. She said, "Let's get started."

"Yeah, okay," Steven said, snatching a donut.

"Fruit first, kiddo," advised Greg.

Steven pouted.

"Fine," he said, grabbing some carefully peeled and arranged orange slices. He popped one into his mouth. "Help yourselves."

Garnet took a single piece of toast and laid it on the plate before her, more as a gesture than anything. Rose took a sampling of a number of different foodstuffs, while Amethyst took an entire bunch of grapes and stuffed it into her mouth, stem and all. Pearl didn't move.

"This is lovely," said Rose, after she had carefully chewed and swallowed a 'waffle' covered in some brown liquid.

"Thanks," said Greg with a chuckle. "I slaved over it all morning!"

Steven smiled, and even the Lapis Lazuli gave a small smirk, but the Crystal Gems were all silent.

"Uh, that was a joke," Greg said. "I just whipped up the bacon and eggs. Most of the rest we either picked up from the store, or Pearl made."

The Blue Pearl nodded.

"Of course," muttered Pearl.

"I helped too!" protested Steven.

"That you did, bud." Greg ruffled the boy's hair.

There was an awkward pause in the conversation, one which Garnet used to open her third eye and Look.

She could see so many ways of this conversation going wrong. Tilting to one extreme or another. Of no one saying anything, and just making their way through awkward platitude to awkward platitude, and no resolution coming at all. Of the Diamond or one of his people saying the wrong thing after another, until it went so far there was no coming back from it. Of one of the Crystal Gems speaking the truth, but at the wrong time and in the wrong way, so that these people just covered their ears and refused to listen. Of fighting erupting again, all lightning and water and lasers and fusions, and a battle from which there were no real winners.

Garnet would not let that happen.

"May I serve drinks?" the Blue Pearl asked, voice soft, picking up a carton of orange juice.

Steven nodded, as if this was to be expected, and she began to fill up a glass for him, quick as could be.

"Oh, yes, yes!" Amethyst said, practically bouncing. Pearl glared at her, and she caught herself.

Greg asked, "What do you say, Steven?"

"Thank you, Pearl," Steven mumbled, after he'd finished a long swig of his drink.

The Blue Pearl was coming around the towel to each person in turn, although she did not even bother to pause at Pearl's spot, going right onto Rose's. "Shall I?"

"If you would like to," Rose said.

The Blue Pearl froze, unsure. The moment stretched.

"It's all right then," Rose Quartz said.

Next the Pearl came to Garnet, the two watching each other carefully. Garnet could feel herself coming to a tributary in the river of time, the current pulling them all inexorably forward. As Blue the Pearl motioned silently with the juice cartoon, Garnet made her choice. She raised her hand and said, "Just because we're at a sand bar, doesn't mean we need to drink."

After a moment, the Blue Pearl's blank face broke into a small smile.

"Very clever," she said, bowing her head slightly.

"That pun was terrible," Steven groaned, but he was smiling.

"That pun was _great_ ," corrected Amethyst, who had snorted some juice out her nose.

With an air of ageless wisdom, Greg said, "A pun is supposed to be both."

Even Pearl was smiling, albeit very faintly. Rose Quartz caught Garnet's eyes and gave a quick wink, and Garnet considered her intervention a success.

Conversation flowed a bit more naturally after that, filled with the sounds of eating by those who chose to partake in the food. It was not long, however, until the interruption Garnet had been expecting came. The sound of soft paws on the sand and then Greg Universe exclaiming, "What the— _is that a lion?!"_

"He is indeed," Rose said, as the animal in question bounded up the beach and came to a skidding stop in the sand, gulping what remained of the eggs in a single lick.

"Oh!" Steven exclaimed. And then he started making those same noises he'd made that first night he'd slept at the Temple. Not quite meows, nor purrs, nor hisses, but something akin to all three, spoken at what was far below the normal range of human speak.

Garnet had informed Rose about this display, and now seeing it in person, her eyes lit up like stars. "You can truly speak to him?"

"Yep," Steven said, reaching out and scratching the giant feline behind his ears. The lion opened its mouth in a slow, contented yawn. As he had never shown himself to be an overly affectionate creature, such a gesture was odd.

There was some warnings from the boy's father and the Blue Pearl, telling him to be careful, to which he responded with a faintly annoyed, "I know, I know. Besides, this guy wouldn't hurt anybody, I can tell."

"Except for magical lizards," pointed out Pearl.

Steven waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, sure. But that kinda stuff doesn't count. Lions are predators, of course they have to eat. It's how it works. Circle of life." Then Steven slapped his forehead, and made some utterance in Cat.

"What's up?" asked Amethyst.

"I promised him I'd come up with a name, and I totally forgot all about it!"

There were blinks all around.

"Does the lion even _need_ a name?" asked the Lapis Lazuli, eyebrow raised.

"Well, he doesn't _need_ one," said Steven. "But it would be nice. Especially if you need to tell him apart from any other lions."

The Gems, regardless of affiliation, exchanged looks. Names were, admittedly, something of a foreign concept for their species. Gems were named for what they were, and nothing else was truly needed.

It was different for humans. Perhaps it was different for animals as well. Garnet couldn't know, but she didn't think the lion looked particularly bothered either way. He was snuffling around the picnic blanket, sniffing hopefully at a plate of bacon.

It was perhaps the only dish that Steven hadn't touched for the entire meal. Now he gave a little meow, and tossed a few slices of it at the lion, who caught it easily in his mouth.

"There we go," Steven said. "His name is Bacon now."

"Well," said Rose Quartz after a beat, "I think that's _lovely_."

"Yeah, nice choice," said Greg. The Blue Pearl nodded.

Amethyst grinned, and tossed the newly dubbed Bacon another of his namesake. It seemed evident that whatever else, the cat did enjoy eating it.

"So…" said Steven, as he went back to eating a donut. "Uh. Rose Quartz. Bacon told me that you're his pride?"

Rose let out of a soft peal of laughter and came to sit next to the lion, who pressed his head into her thigh and let out a soft pur. "Is that how he phrases it? Yes, I suppose I am. I looked after him when we had no one else left…" Her smile clouded over momentarily; Garnet could only guess at what she was thinking. Then she brightened again. "But tell me— is, ah, Bacon, the only animal you've ever spoken to?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I can talk to _loads_ ," said Steven.

"Like what?" said Amethyst, sitting forward eagerly.

"Any animal that communicates vocally," said the Lapis Lazuli, and Steven nodded. In demonstration, he cocked an ear to listen to the gulls flying overhead, and informed everyone that mostly they were discussing how they could steal the group's food.

Rose was overawed and filled with questions— ones that for once, Steven Universe seemed quite happy to answer. While Garnet did not quite share Rose's enthusiasm, or even Amethyst's, she did have to confess some interest. Earth's myriad of creatures have been one of the things Ruby and Sapphire had been most excited to discover in their initial explorations of Earth, and it was amazing to know that even after all these years, there was still something more that could be learned about them.

Garnet found herself speculating about the lion— Bacon— in particular. When Rose had first introduced him to them all, it had become immediately apparent that his intelligence had seemed beyond others of his kind. Garnet had assumed it was something to do with how Rose had reshaped his nature. Or perhaps the greater understanding of language and such was something all beasts could learn, if only given a long enough lifespan to do so. Or perhaps, if so many animals were capable of communication among themselves, such intelligence was in fact quite common, and she had simply never looked close enough to see…

"This power is unique to you, I assume," Garnet said. "An effect of your hybrid nature."

Greg spoke up. "Ah, actually, Steven's Mom had it too. Discovered it a couple years into our relationship. She found it a real challenge, though."

"Steven exhibits a true talent for it," the Blue Pearl said.

Steven smiled, puffing his chest out a little in pride.

"I see," said Pearl, and added nothing else.

Garnet glanced at her. She was sitting even stiffer than usual. Her eyes were narrowed, and her fist clenched so tightly shut that her knuckles had turned blue.

It took a moment of consideration, and then Garnet understood why.

Blue Diamond had always been capable of understanding Earth's animals, but never once noticed in the centuries and centuries of warfare pitched on this planet.

Garnet frowned. Much could have been avoided, if only the Diamonds had bothered to look and listen at the things they were so intent on destroying.

By then, the conversation had moved on, however. Rose had confessed how she wished she could communicate with animals too… but also had a power related to this planet's life.

Intrigued, Steven had of course asked to see. His companions, too, watched with varying degrees of curiosity as Rose Quartz selected one of the remaining orange slices. She buried it some ways away in the sand, then poured a little bit of water from a bottle over it.

She closed her eyes. Pure pink light spilled from her gemstone— and up from the sand came a little green shoot. Soon that shoot was a sapling, that sapling growing branches and leaves and flowers— flowers which rapidly turned into green bulbs, which within the space of a minute became larger and larger, brighter and brighter—

"Oranges!" exclaimed Steven, jumping to his feet. He stared at them. "Can I… are they safe to eat?"

"Perfectly," said Rose Quartz.

Steven still looked unsure— an effect exacerbated by how the Blue Pearl placed a single hand on his shoulder, as if holding him back.

In the spirit of alliance, Garnet got to her feet, strode to the new tree and grabbed a fruit from it. She peeled it in a few deft motions, and popped a couple slices into her mouth. While eating had never truly been her thing, the flavor was fresh and sharp and tangy, and in that moment, she could understand why humans enjoyed it so much.

(Amethyst, by now, had climbed up the tree and already eaten three whole fruits, peel included).

Garnet grabbed one more orange, and tossed it lightly at Steven. Surprised, he just barely managed to catch it.

Everyone sat back down while Rose chatted more about her abilities, and how she would have to move the orange tree. A beach wouldn't be able to support it long term without constant maintenance, and the Delmarva climate simply wasn't suited to its tropical nature. Steven ate the orange as he listened, shyly asking if maybe he'd be allowed to go with her and watch when she re-planted it somewhere warmer.

The meal was winding down, and despite a rocky start, it seemed to have been a complete success.

That was when the Blue Pearl got up, and began to clean. Picking up the plates and stacking them, gathering the fallen orange peels, picking up stray wrappers.

Steven Universe didn't even look her way.

"Hey, need any help?" asked Greg.

"No," the Blue Pearl whispered. "I need no assistance in my duty."

And that was the breaking point.

"It's not your 'duty' to _clean up everyone_ else's messes!" Pearl snapped.

The Blue Pearl said nothing, keeping her head bowed.

The Lapis Lazuli came to her side. "Yeah, it is. Don't get mad because someone actually knows how to do her job _properly_."

Every Crystal Gem recoiled. Even Amethyst, who knew nothing but the stories.

Pearl got to her feet. Her spear was not out, but her gem was glowing.

Greg was asking everyone to _calm down_ , and so was Steven. "Yeah. Relax, guys— no big deal." He addressed Rose. "Your Pearl might not like cleaning, but it's one of _my_ Pearl's favourite things!"

"That is _it_!" Pearl raised her head high. "I am not going to just sit here and watch you— use her and parade her around!"

Garnet could have changed this outcome. Could have altered the flow of conversation; could have called out to Pearl; could have said something to calm her. But she didn't. Pearl had a right to be affronted. And this, Garnet felt, was something that perhaps Steven Universe needed to see.

The boy was staring off after Pearl as she jumped high into the air, leaping up towards the Temple in a single bound and vanishing out of sight.

"Rude," said Lapis Lazuli.

"What was _that_ about?" said Steven.

"You called her 'my' Pearl," said Rose. "She is not. She belongs to no one but herself."

He crossed his arms. "I just meant, like, she's your guys' friends, like how Pearl's _my_ friend."

Garnet looked at said Pearl, staring her down. The Blue Pearl said nothing, and met her gaze, unflinching.

"Oh?" said Rose.

"You're gonna have to tell Pearl that," said Amethyst, in between chomps on a paper bag. "'Cuz she _really_ didn't get that."

"Well, I don't see why she assumed—" began Steven.

"Pearl fought hard for her freedom," said Garnet. "That is the underlying tenant of Crystal Gem philosophy. The freedom to be yourself, and to make your own decisions."

Greg smiled. "Oh. Well, that sounds really nice!"

"Too bad it's a _lie_ ," hissed Lapis Lazuli.

Everyone's attention shifted to her. She smiled at that, though it was not a happy expression. "Your Pearl didn't seem so concerned with freedom for those hundreds of years she kept me trapped in a _mirror_."

Greg's smile faltered. Steven shifted, his expression darkening. "Yeah, that's a good point."

"I believe there has been a misunderstanding," began Rose.

Garnet nodded. "We did not trap Lapis Lazuli in the mirror. Pearl simply found it abandoned at the galaxy warp."

The Lazuli's wings snapped out. "Oh, yeah, and after finding me, you guys _sure_ did your best to set me free."

"We did not know you were conscious in there," said Garnet.

" _Sure_ you didn't."

Blue Pearl placed down her collection of garbage, and came to stand next to the Lazuli. "Lapis," she said, "Gems who are placed into items are supposed to have their sentience erased."

Lapis Lazuli turned to her, eyes flashing with anger and betrayal.

"Uh… Pearl _did_ say that after I let you out…" said Steven, voice small.

Lapis Lazuli stared at him from one long moment, then looked away, her gaze focusing back on the Crystal Gems.

"Fine," she said, in a tone which was not fine at all. The ocean sounded much louder all of a sudden, the waves crashing angrily against the shore. Garnet had to restrain the urge to summon her gauntlets. " _Fine_. You didn't put me in the mirror, and you didn't know I was actually alive in there— not that you ever bothered to try and figure that out— but it's still y _our fault I was put in there in the first place_!"

By now, the situation was so tense that even Bacon had noticed. He was sitting up, his fur puffed out to make himself seem larger and more threatening.

Even Lapis Lazuli's own companions seemed on edge, Greg Universe especially. But Rose Quartz acted as though she was only mildly concerned.

She asked, "What do you mean?"

"'What do I mean?'" Lapis said, voice low. "I mean it's your fault for starting a war over this tiny planet! For getting me caught up in it. It was one of your Gems— one of your Bismuths— who _attacked_ me—"

Only then did Rose flinch.

Amethyst was the one who stepped in instead, standing up and balling her fists. "Yeah, well, c'mon. 'Course she did, you're a super powerful fighter!"

"I'm a _terraformer_! I'm not meant to fight! But that's what you Crystal Gems do! All so quick to do whatever you want, to let anybody charge into battle, that you completely forgot civilians exist! So you attacked me, and I never got the chance to regenerate! I came back in a mirror, branded a traitor—"

"I am sorry," Rose said, and she meant it. That much was obvious. Her face was filled with genuine sorrow, her eyes shone with unspilled tears. "You should not have been hurt so. Not by us, not by Homeworld."

Lapis Lazuli flinched, taken aback. Even the wind that had started up seemed to falter a little. "I— what? Homeworld didn't hurt me—"

"They did," said Rose.

Lapis Lazuli shook her head, looking desperately at Steven, whose face was just confused. "No. It's all _your_ fault—"

"We are not the one who imprisoned you without trial, Lapis Lazuli," said Garnet. She could See other futures splayed out before her, and she brought what she had learned from them to bear. "We are not the ones who refused to listen to your pleas, who condemned you to a voiceless existence—"

Lapis Lazuli's nostrils flared. Her wings spread out out ever further, and the ocean was roaring, and it seemed certain that a wave would come bearing down, unstoppable, upon all of them—

— but it didn't. Lapis just jumped up into the air and flew away. High, high up— but not so high that she was out of sight. She was a dark blue speck against a light blue sky, circling and circling, refusing to leave her Diamond.

Steven stared up at her, biting his lip. He asked Blue Pearl, "Is she… gonna be okay?"

The Pearl did not answer immediately. "I believe she needs… time to clear her head, my Steven. She will come back in time, I'm sure."

"O… kay…" he said.

"Sheesh," Amethyst muttered under his breath, kicking at the sand. "Drama queen."

"No more than your Pearl," snapped Steven.

Rose Quartz stood up. "I think that might be all for today, perhaps."

Looking around at everyone's faces— Greg's grimace, Steven's sudden glumness, the Pearl's completely blank expression— Garnet couldn't help but agree. Besides, for a meal which was supposed to have been breakfast, it was growing quite late. Already the sun was beginning to move back down towards the west horizon.

Garnet nodded, and got to her feet as well. With the solemnity that befitted the occasion, she said, "Thank you for the meal."

"Yeah. Real tasty," Amethyst said, already scrambling to follow her friends' lead.

"Don't… even mention it," replied Greg, after a moment.

Rose pulled her gaze back down from the sky, where she'd got caught watching Lazuli, and refocused on the young Diamond. "This isn't going to be easy, I think. For any of us. But I believe we have a lot to learn from each other." She glanced at Greg. "Will you stay with your father tonight?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess."

"Good. I hope you enjoy your evening together. And I hope we can meet again tomorrow."

It wasn't an order. Not at all. Yet something in its cadence made it feel like one. Made it feel impossible to decline.

"Yeah," said Greg Universe, resting a hand on his son's shoulder. "Yeah. I guess we'll… see you then, Rose. Garnet. Amethyst."

"Okay. Tomorrow," agreed Steven.

Steven nodded. The Pearl bowed. Then she finished cleaning up— Greg helping, and after a moment, the boy and the Lazuli as well.

The Crystal Gems watched as they filed into the human vehicle, and drove away.

Garnet knew without looking that the future was going to be very interesting indeed.

oOo

 **Authors' Note:** Hey folks! Just wanted to point you in the direction of our new 'story', "Faded Blue: Extended Play", which is really just a place to post stuff on the music for this series, since some folks expressed interest. We're unable to upload it on this website, since it doesn't support alternative formats like audio-files and scores, but you can find it on Ao3 or our tumblr 'Team Faded Blue'.

In future we'll be posting things like full lyrics and chords/tabs for songs, but right now we have piece on the ukulele called _'Quiet Days at the Palanquin'_ composed and performed by AiramCG.


	19. Recuperation

**Chapter Nineteen: Recuperation**

Pearl hadn't retreated into her room, no matter how much she had wanted to, no matter how much she had wanted to stand in a place that was hers, entirely hers, and hold onto the hilts of blades she had _earned_ , and swing them around with perfect form and imagine burying them into the bodies of tyrants.

Instead she had remained in the cavern outside the Temple proper, keeping eyes and ears on the proceedings below, prepared to fight if she was needed.

But she hadn't been. The breakfast had ended, and the little Diamond's entourage had left, and Pearl had banished her spear, and found herself standing there, strange and shivery and uncertain.

The others had come up, and she had not been able to bear to look at them. Felt hot and embarrassed at Amethyst's curious glances, and unworthy of the hand that Garnet had briefly pressed onto her shoulder.

The worst was when Rose Quartz asked, "Pearl, would you come into my room, please?"

Numbly, Pearl nodded, and stepped into the pink light, trying very hard to press back on memories of her life on Homeworld, of her old Master calling out to her when she made a mistake, taking her somewhere private, where no one else could see, and—

The door to the room closed, and Pearl spoke.

"I overreacted." Her voice did not tremble. A Pearl's voice should always be steady and sure. "I stand by what I said, but that does not matter. Outbursts like that aren't going to help us achieve peace. I promise that from now on I'll restrain myself, or else ensure I am not in a position where I might jeopardize our—"

"Pearl," Rose Quartz said.

Pearl stopped.

"It's okay," she said, and Pearl finally looked up. Rose's face was not angry or disappointed. Her voice was not sharp or reprimanding. "I understand. What they said was out of line, and you have a right to be upset."

"I— yes, of course," said Pearl, "but that doesn't mean I should have—"

"Spoken your mind?" Rose's voice was gentle, but now there was perhaps the faintest hint of amusement. "Of course it does. That's what I love about you, Pearl. How you always say exactly what you're feeling."

Rose opened her arms in an invitation, and after a breath, Pearl fell into them, letting them wrap around her, strong and soft.

There were tears burning in her eyes, and she hated them, _hated_ them. She always had. Hated the ways her emotions betrayed her, always plain on her face for everyone to see, impossible to hide. But she didn't have to hide from Rose. They'd seen each other at their best and at their worst. They could tell each other anything.

"I know— I know it's not the same," Pearl stammered into Rose's chest. "I know it's not. I— whatever it is— I saw it on the Blue Pearl's face, when Steven Universe hugged her. It's not— that wasn't the look of a Diamond and her property but-" She shook her head. "She says she's happy, but how can she be sure, if she's never known anything else? And that Lapis and that— that _Steven_ , acting like it's ridiculous to think she could ever even try something else!" Pearl pulled away, just a little bit. "When I see her, I feel like I'm looking into a mirror."

"She's not you," Rose Quartz said. "Pearl, you're not her."

But she could have been, so easily. That was what made it so unbearable.

Rose stroked Pearl's hair. "That Pearl's not the one who's spent nearly six thousand years by my side. She's not the one who fought a war and won. She's not the one in my arms now."

Then Rose leaned in, and very carefully, kissed Pearl's gem.

The touch was soft, but Pearl swore she could feel every tiny detail of her lover's lips radiating through her. It sent shivers through her body, her mind. Not just the contact itself, but knowledge of it— the certainty that she could trust the most delicate part of herself, her very soul, and know that it was completely safe in Rose's hands.

Pearl rose up on her toes, a silent invitation for Rose to put more pressure on it, and she complied.

There was some more kissing then, some more cuddling, and a few minutes later Pearl found herself practically wrapped in Rose's hair, the two of them splayed out against the cloud floor. Except the floor was no longer clouds, but cool, lush grasses; and the sky above them was a beautiful sunset, an exact replica of the first one the two of them had shared together on this planet, magnificent red and purples and pinks, just a few shy stars peeking out of the blackness at the room's very top.

Rose reached out and gave Pearl's hand a gentle squeeze. "I think they can learn. They'll need someone to teach them."

"And you think that someone is me," said Pearl. It made sense, after all. She'd helped other Pearls during the rebellion, helped them find their way. It hadn't always been easy, but she'd done it.

"Not if it's going to hurt you like this," Rose said.

Pearl didn't mind if it hurt. She was no stranger to pain. Pain was what had made her what she was.

She made up her mind there, tightening her grip on Rose's hand. She had a job to do, and she would not shy away from it.

* * *

"Just dial the number and press the call button."

Amethyst stuck out her tongue as she brought to mind what Connie's phone number was. The girl had told her before, but Amethyst hadn't really focused on remembering it, because she hadn't had a phone at the time, and honestly, hadn't been entirely clear on what one was. Still, the digits were kicking around somewhere in her mind. Amethyst punched them in and then pressed the green call button. "Like that?"

Greg nodded at her. "Yeah, just like that."

Amethyst put the phone up to her ear. It was ringing. "Cool," she said before adding, "Uh, thanks for letting me use your phone, dude."

"Yeah, no problem. I can't believe you you all have gotten this far along without one," Greg said. He was smiling, but Amethyst still wondered if he was upset about the whole 'going through his belongings and taking his phone' thing.

She shrugged internally. Oh well. Maybe he should have thought about that before he lied to all of them.

Amethyst took a few steps away from Greg and his oversized van. She wanted to be out of earshot. Luckily, shortly thereafter, Greg pushed off and headed inside the car wash.

Good. She wouldn't have to watch her language now.

The phone rung for a few more seconds before it was stopped mid-ring. There was a pause and then Connie's voice on the other end. "Hello? Maheswaran residence."

"Hey, Connie!" Amethyst greeted. "Wassup?"

"Oh, hey Amethyst!" Connie replied more enthusiastically. "I didn't recognize the number. Where are you calling from? That one cell phone?"

"Yeah. Though I'm gonna need to return it soon," Amethyst answered.

"Return it? You're borrowing it?"

"Er, sort of. Long story," Amethyst chuckled. "But yeah. Right now I'm borrowing it."

"Hmm… Well when I check our bids on ECove, maybe we can use some of the money we're getting from those coins to get you a phone of your own."

"Ooh, yeah, dude," Amethyst said. "Then I could call you anytime I wanted!"

"Yeah! You could!" Connie exclaimed in return. "I could even call you from- Oh, that's right! I didn't tell you that yet."

Amethyst blinked. "Tell me what, dude? What's up?"

"Well, it's something I'm doing for school," Connie began. There was a sound like crinkled paper through the receiver. "We're taking an extended field trip this weekend."

Amethyst scratched the corner of her mouth. "You're taking a trip to a field? Is that what you do in 'school'?" She shrugged. "Sounds kinda dull."

Connie laughed on the other end of the phone. "No, it's not a trip to a field," she said. "It's just a term used for when a class goes outside the school for something. Into the field."

"Ahh, okay okay," Amethyst slowly nodded. "I gotcha. So where are ya going?"

"We're going camping!" Connie answered excitedly. "We're going to Beveridge National Park and we're camping over the weekend!" There was a pause and Amethyst smirked to herself. Just by the tone of her voice, Amethyst knew that Connie had to be practically bouncing up and down with excitement. "I can't wait. There's a waterfall and a nature trail and we're going to go _canoeing_ Amethyst! Can you believe it?"

"It certainly sounds like a time," Amethyst answered. Honestly, though, it didn't seem all that special. Amethyst could take Connie to a waterfall whenever she wanted. And they had the Gem sloop, which was better than some lame canoe anyway. It had sails and everything!

Amethyst frowned at herself. She was being kinda petty, and she knew it. It was already hard enough to get to see Connie, who apparently had to do human stuff five days out of every seven, and had been hoping that she'd be able to come over this weekend.

Still. Maybe she'd be able to spin this in her favor. She put on a lilting tone as she continues, "Maybe when ya get back, I might have a _surpriiiiise_ for you."

"A surprise? What kind of surprise?"

"Well, I can't tell ya, can I, or it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"

"Amethyst!"

She broke into laughter over Connie's protests, desperately trying to get it out of her.

"Okay, okay," Amethyst said, "try and guess."

"Oh come on," Connie moaned.

" _Guuueesss_."

"Fine. Um… does it have to do with… uh… a monster?"

"Nope."

"How about that space queen?"

Amethyst scowled into the phone. "Okay, yeah."

"Score!" Amethyst could practically see Connie pumping her hand in the air. "Okay, now you gotta spill."

"Okay. Um, well, I guess I technically shouldn't, cuz Pearl might be mad at me— but okay, so we had this incident…"

"Wait, an incident? Amethyst, are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

"Amethyst..."

"Seriously! I reformed, and everything's cool now—"

"...reformed?"

"Yeah. The thing I did the day we met. Y'know, body destroyed, _poof_ , then I come back, good as new—"

" _Waitwaitwaitwaitwait_ , back up." Now Connie sounded freaked. "The Diamond _destroyed your body_?"

"Well— not _exactly—_ "

"Then what, exactly?"

Amethyst rubbed her neck. It was a long story, and honestly, there were a couple details she was vague on herself, from when she was in her gem. "Well, okay. So, Rose and Pearl were talking with the Diamond, trying to like negotiate—"

From the phone there came the sound of a voice raised in the distance. "Wait one sec," Connie said, and then, muffled, "Two more minutes, please?"

" _No, we have to leave_ now _—_ "

"Sorry, Amethyst. I gotta go. It's time for tennis practice." There was another short pause, and Amethyst could imagine Connie grimacing at the thought. "Then after, I'm going to tell Mom about the camping field trip. I can't wait."

"Good luck!" Amethyst said.

"Yeah. And you have good luck with your evil queen situation. I expect the full story later."

"Definitely."

Amethyst heard the distant sound of more voices.

"Okay, I gotta go, Amethyst. Talk to you later."

"Alright. See ya 'round, Crushed." Amethyst tapped the screen, ending the call.

She was glad to hear that Connie was excited about something. Even Amethyst could see that she was still adjusting to loss of her finger. And if what some of what Connie had told her was true, so were her parents. They seemed like major control freaks in Amethyst's book.

And Amethyst had begun to feel a little bad on her behalf. She didn't really know how to offer comfort and stuff, especially about something like this. It just seemed so weird, Amethyst thought, that you could lose a body part forever. Amethyst made her own finger wink in and out of existence; she'd done that for her whole body just hours ago.

But it was good that Connie was hyped about something, even if it was just something like camping with her school. Give her something good to look forward to. Life can go on even after tragedy, and all that junk.

" _Pfft_ , pretty poetic," Amethyst shrugged to herself. "Aw, well. She got the camping thing and when she gets back, she can meet Steven. That should help inject a little something-something into her life."

Amethyst began walking to the car wash's office, idly wondering what Connie's reaction would be when she got the full story. Maybe it was best she hadn't finished now; it was the kind of story that was better to tell in person

Rapping her knuckles against the doorframe, Amethyst stole Greg's attention from the computer, and held the phone aloft. "Yo. I'm done. Here ya go."

"Oh, hey Amethyst. Look, actually, why don't you just keep that?"

"What?"

"Yeah. Go ahead. I can just get myself a new one. Consider that one… an olive branch."

Amethyst looked at the hunk of metal and plastic in her hand, then back at Greg. "It's a phone."

"A metaphorical one, I meant. Like… a gift," Greg said, with a slightly nervous chuckle. "I mean, we're all friends now, right? Friends give each other gifts."

"Huh. Well, all right. Thanks dude!"

Amethyst wandered off, feeling happier than she had… in well, a long time.

The Crystal Gems were friends with a Diamond. Rose and Garnet and Pearl wouldn't have to keep worrying all the time. None of them were going to get saddled with guard duty anymore. Amethyst could hang out with Steven like he was just another Gem. _And_ she had a phone, so she could call Connie whenever she wanted.

And play Bedazzled. She was getting pretty close to beating the high score. She couldn't wait to hear Pearl screeching about how distasteful the whole thing was.

* * *

Waiting outside the car wash bathroom, Pearl listened as Greg called, "Are you almost ready in there, sport?"

Pearl sat off to the side, in one of the waiting area chairs. Even though she kept her expression in her usual neutral manner, she was very glad to be able to go through Steven's evening ritual. Even if they were having to do to it at the car wash, rather than the Palanquin or the apartment.

She was also glad the boy would finally be getting the chance to clean himself. She had not been able to ignore that he had come to smell rather… strongly.

"Yeah, Dad. I'm almost ready." Steven's voice came out muffled there the door. A moment later, the doorknob began to rattle and Pearl rose from her seat and joined Greg next to the door. The door opened and he exited from the bathroom, smiling at either of them and gave a quick twirl, showing of his new teal pajamas. "How do I look?"

"Very striking, my Steven," Pearl answered. "And did you brush your teeth?"

Steven rolled his eyes, though never misplaced his smile. " _Yes, Pearl_."

"And you used some of that waterless shampoo I gave ya?" Greg asked.

Steven nodded. "Yep! Wanna smell?"

Greg leaned over and put his face close to the top of Steven's head and sniffed. "Yep," he said, standing back up. "Very fruity."

"Though… He still needs to take a proper shower sometime," Pearl said.

"Yeah, he does," Greg agreed. "I'll work on that tomorrow… Hm, maybe Vidalia or Barb would let us use their showers. Since now the whole town knows I have a son."

Steven quietly shifted where he stood and looked down at his bare feet.

Greg noticed this immediately. "Hey, it's not your fault, bud," he said, tussling Steven's hair. "I was probably gonna tell everyone about you _sometime_." He chuckled, "And I certainly can't fault ya for wanting to see your old man again first thing."

Steven smiled sheepishly as the three of them exited the car wash, Pearl holding onto Steven's hand as they did. They walked to Greg's van, moved from the beach and now back to its usual position next to the car wash.

Greg referred to it as a van, but Pearl's research into human vehicles suggested this was not accurate. It could be more correctly classified as a 'trailer'— longer than a van, possessing, among other things, a bed built into a wall, a table with couch, and a small kitchen-ette. Steven had once inquired about his father's insistent incorrect terminology, and he had said it was out of respect to a van he had once owned. "Bought it in college, with my own money… Did my first tour on that thing, back before I was famous," he'd said, eyes going distant with nostalgia. "Had to sell it when I moved to Korea, of course, but never forgot it. Even gave this one the same paint job in its memory."

Now Greg motioned Steven into the trailer, revealing the blankets and pillows that had, until very recently, been in the cage in the Crystal Gem's base. Now they were back on the bed where they belonged, and beckoned invitingly. Steven made a beeline to it, hopping happily onto the mattress.

But he didn't get under the covers, or even lie down.

"I'm not really that tired," Steven said, noticeably trying to suppress a yawn.

Pearl smiled lightly as she sat down next to him, Greg taking a place his other side. "I see. Well, then what do you want to do, my Steven?"

Steven shrugged lazily. "I dunno. Just sit here with you?" He grabbed Pearl's hand and laid his head against Greg. "I really missed you guys."

"Well, to be fair," Greg chuckled, "I was always there. Except when I had to get food."

"You know what I mean," Steven said. Greg nodded.

Pearl understood as well. The time they had been apart, Pearl constantly worried about his safety and well being… It had almost been too much to handle. But she wouldn't allow it to happen again. She couldn't allow another such failing of her duties.

Not when Steven's safety and well-being were at stake.

"Do not worry, my Steven," Pearl said softly. "You will never be taken away from us against your will again. I promise."

Steven blinked wearily at her. "You took your hair clip out," he said.

"Yes," Pearl answered. "But I have it with me, for when I need it again."

Steven nodded silently, his head still resting in the crook of Greg's arm. "I love you guys. You're the best dad and the best guardian ever."

Greg only smiled as Steven's breathing slowed and his mouth hung open just slightly. He was sound asleep. Greg nodded at Pearl, who took her cue and carefully lifted Steven off of his father. He slid off of the bed and retreated, and together they rearranged Steven so his head was on the pillow, a cover draped over him.

With one last look, to make sure he was settled, Pearl left the trailer, Greg carefully shutting the door behind him.

Several moments of silence passed between them as Greg and Pearl stood outside on the tarmac, neither saying anything.

It was finally Greg that broke the silence, "Well. I guess my spying days are behind me, huh?"

Pearl gave him a thin smile. "I believe your spying days have been over for a little while now."

" _Heh_ , yeah okay. Fair point." Silence again, and then, "So, what did you think about the breakfast? Honestly."

Pearl considered a moment. "The Pearl's reaction did not surprise me. And neither did Lapis's."

Her gaze flicked upward and she saw Lapis, still slowly circling above them, guarding them. Lapis still did not trust the Crystal Gems, a sentiment that Pearl could understand. And with that in mind, she could also understand Lapis's desire to keep watch through the night.

"Do you think that's… necessary?" Greg asked, also looking at the circling Lapis.

"It helps puts Lapis at ease," Pearl said. "After feeling like she couldn't do anything to help Steven, I do not begrudge her desire to do whatever she can now."

Greg slowly nodded as he looked back at Pearl. "And… do _you_ think the Crystal Gems are going to try anything?"

Again, Pearl was silent as she considered the question. "I think," she said evenly, "if they are going to try and attack us, we will have the advantage, being so close to the ocean."

Greg sighed heavily. "That doesn't really do much to put my mind at rest."

Pearl bowed her head at him. "I am sorry, Greg."

"No, no. It's alright Pearl," Greg said. He sighed again. "This whole… thing has made me so tired."

"Then perhaps you need some rest, just as Steven does."

As if on cue, Greg yawned, putting his hand over his mouth to cover it. "Yeah. You're probably right. Hopefully the van couch is more comfortable than a rock floor."

Pearl realized that Greg had slept by Steven's side every night during his captivity, forgoing the comforts of his trailer. This did not surprise her. Greg was a human, but in some ways, he had a commitment to loyalty that matched any Homeworld Gem's.

"Hopefully," she said.

He laid a firm hand on Pearl's shoulder. "Good night, Pearl. If you need me, you know you can wake me up."

"I know. Good night, Greg. Sleep well."

Greg turned back to the van door, opened it as quietly as he could, and closed it silently behind him.

And Pearl was alone.

Before she could even begin considering what to do next, she heard the soft beat of wings above. She glanced up as Lapis landed behind her. "Hey," Lapis greeted.

"Hello, Lapis," Pearl returned.

Lapis did not immediately respond. Instead she floated up briefly to look through the window, from where Pearl knew the bed— and Steven— was visible. A satisfied look crossed her face. Only then did she look back at Pearl and ask, "So what are you doing?"

"Since we are away from the Palanquin and I have no other chores to attend to, I was going to continue work on the drill."

"I can't come with you," Lapis said.

"I know. But with our planning to rescue Steven, I lost many nights of work on it." Pearl shook her head. "It is not something that can be put off."

"Yeah, that's what I thought you were going to say," Lapis replied. "Sorry, but no."

Pearl tilted her head to the side. "No?"

"Yeah, no. You're going to stay here, get in that van and rest. At least for tonight."

"I do not require any rest," Pearl countered.

"You do," Lapis shot back. "You haven't had a resting period since before Steven was taken."

"A resting period is not _required—_ "

"A Gem can start to get screwy if they're not given resting periods," Lapis cut Pearl off. Lapis looked like she was going to continue, but instead she opened her mouth, closed it, and then started again, "Look, Pearl. You don't want to be like the _other_ Pearl, wound so tight you're never happy."

"I don't see how—"

"If you're not going to do it for yourself, then do it for Steven, or Greg, or… or me." Her cheeks flared with color as she looked away. "Just, you know. You deserve a break."

Pearl pursed her lips silently, before finally bowing her head at Lapis. "Very well, Lapis. I will take a rest tonight."

"Good," Lapis said.

Part of her wanted to say, 'You deserve a rest too'. Because it was true. Because Lapis Lazuli was tired as well. She had seen it in the days and days of restless planning. Even when Pearl had practiced her skills with the flute on her, never once had she been able to fully banish that fear and anxiety from Lapis's form.

But it was not a question of deserve. It was a question of duty.

Lapis stepped closer and after a second of hesitation brought her arms around Pearl and hugged her. The gesture took Pearl by surprise, but she reciprocated easily, squeezing Lapis in the same manner Steven always did to her.

They parted and after one more silent nod, Lapis summoned her wings and took to the sky above the car wash again, returning to her vigil. Pearl watched for a moment before finally, she too, returned to the trailer.

She waited for a moment in the darkness, filled only by the sound of Greg's snores and Steven's breathing. Quiet, peaceful sounds. Pearl could have just stood there at attention, as was expected of a Pearl— except it wasn't expected here. She could have sat down, in the driver's seat or at the table, which would have been quite a comfortable way to spend the next eight hours.

Instead, she padded over to the bed, and nestled in next to Steven. She listened for any change in his breathing, fearful of waking him. She watched him, and found that he was still sound asleep. She watched as his chest slowly and steadily rose; watched as his eyes darted behind closed lids. He must have been dreaming.

Pearl hoped it was a pleasant one.

She leaned closed to him and kissed him lightly on the forehead.

"Good-night, my Steven. Rest well."

Pearl leaned against the side of the bed alcove wall, her eyes never wavering off of Steven.

She blinked. And again. And again.

Her head tilted down and her eyes shut and she did not wake until morning.


	20. Questions

****Warning** : **This chapter is rather heavy on discussion about slavery and corporeal punishment.

 **Questions**

Steven woke up comfy and confused, initially not sure where he was. And when he registered it as his Dad's van, he nearly panicked, wondering how he'd gotten there and where were the Crystal Gems and what if—

But then Pearl was been there, stroking the back his hair, telling him everything was fine. He sighed the biggest sigh of relief he could manage.

It turned out to be a rather nice morning. The nicest they'd had together— just the three of them— in a while. Since Empire City, actually. Music blasted from the radio, Dad and Pearl singing along, Steven occasionally humming quietly under his breath. He got to put on fresh, clean clothes, and sit at a proper table. There was a fresh breakfast, and while it was nothing like the previous day's feast, it was still really good. Pearl was fine with cooking as long as she had a recipe to follow, and having Dad there was a great help, 'cuz he could always just tell when the food needed a little dash of extra spice or cheese or something.

The only sour note was that Lapis wasn't there. When Steven asked about her, Pearl just said that she was outside, and not ready to come in.

Steven grimaced into his plate. He had half a mind to go out there and order her in. He'd been fantasizing about getting to have everyone together in one place, and he didn't want to waste the opportunity.

But this… wasn't going to be a limited time thing, he soon realized. Nobody had outwardly voiced anything about returning to Korea and the Palanquin, probably because they all sort of figured that the Crystal Gems probably wouldn't like that. So there was no hurry for these things. If Lapis wanted to blow off some steam after yesterday, well, maybe it was best to just let her.

Still, Lapis or not, it was a wonderful morning.

He really didn't want to ruin it by going to the Crystal Gems. But as both Pearl and his Dad had pointed out, he'd promised to meet with them, and it wasn't right to go back on a promise.

They both offered to go with him, but Steven declined. Pearl had seemed to upset the Crystal Gems yesterday for some reason, and he didn't really want Dad in any danger, especially since he was now free to spend the day however he wanted. After a brief debate, they agreed he could go unescorted, though not before Pearl gave him a thorough look over to make sure there were still no ill effects from his extended imprisonment. When he passed inspection, they both allowed him to leave.

But he didn't make it that far from the RV before Lapis appeared over his shoulder.

"Good morning," Lapis said, and used the greeting she'd learned from Pearl. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did." He grinned. "You should try it sometime. I think you'd like it."

"Just lying there, thinking about nothing?"

"Or everything," added Steven.

Lapis shook her head. "Why would I want to spend all my time just lying somewhere, when I could be out there, _doing_ stuff?"

Steven shrugged. He'd tried to explain why sleeping was so nice to Lapis before, and she hadn't really gotten it then either. Maybe eventually he'd be able to convince her, but just not now. "So, what stuff did you get up to last night, then?"

"Oh, well." Lapis flicked her hand. "Just flew around. Kept watch. Made sure nothing… happened."

"You're… afraid of the Crystal Gems?"

" _I'm_ not. I can drop an ocean on them if I wanted. But you, on the other hand…."

Steven looked down at the sand beneath his feet. He _was_ afraid, honestly. But he was trying not to be. "I don't think you need to do that."

"I disagree."

"They're not going to attack us now," he said.

"If you'd let me restrain them, they definitely wouldn't."

Steven stopped, gaze focusing intently on Lapis. " _You_ weren't showing much 'restraint' yesterday."

"Yeah. Well." She lept into the air and gave to quick flaps of her watery wings, putting some distance between them. "I had to protect you."

"You cracked three of them! You could've shattered all of them!"

"So what? They're traitors! Rose Quartz is a Diamond-shatterer, you said it yourself!"

"Yeah, well, the others aren't!"

Lapis scowled. "Do you know that for sure?"

"I— well—" Steven stammered, because he didn't. Then he rallied. " _Amethyst_ isn't. She didn't even fight in the war! She came out late!"

"Oh. So _that's_ why she's so small…" Lapis muttered.

"She didn't fight," Steven repeated. "The only reason she even really joined the Crystal Gems is because she didn't have anywhere else to go! I know she helped lock me up but…" He gulped. "She can be annoying, but also really nice, and she hung out with me when I was stuck in there, and… When I saw her cracked, I was so scared that she'd—"

There was a soft rush of wind as Lapis landed, her shoulders and wings drooping. Her voice was quiet when she admitted, "I… didn't mean to. I just got… carried away…"

In his mind, the memory flashed— a sword, a scream, pink shards falling to the ground—

"Yeah, well," Steven snapped, "don't let it happen again."

"Yes, my Diamond," Lapis said, soft, mullish.

It irked him, the way she said that. It _was_ respectful, but… it was also kind of annoying, like she was only listening to him because he'd ordered it, not because she agreed.

He nearly snapped at her about it, but she already looked upset. Instead, he gently took her hand. "Look… Lapis, it's okay. I know you were just protecting me. That means a lot." He stepped a little closer and squeezed her hand firmly in his own. "Thanks."

After a moment, she squeezed his hand back, and said, "Yeah. Of course."

A moment later, Amethyst's voice rang out across the beach, yelling, "Yo, Steven! Steven, come over here!", and Lapis pulled her hand free of his.

"I don't want to talk to them," she said.

Steven just nodded in silent understanding. She gave him a tight smile, and took off in a flash of blue, going off to perch on the head of that weird giant fusion statue-thingy built over the Crystal Gem base. Steven carried on towards Amethyst, and despite what he'd said, felt reassured to know that Lapis was watching out for him.

Amethyst met him on the other side of the chain-link fence, near the water. She was grinning practically from ear to ear. "Ta~da!" she announced. "Look what I made!"

" _Wow_ ," Steven said, as he stared at what had to be the most impressive sandcastle he'd ever seen in his life. The thing was huge, bigger even than he was, with turrets and spires and a moat filled with actual sea-water. "Wow."

"Yeah," Amethyst said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. It looked different now, Steven noticed— kinda poofier. "I am pretty amazing."

Steven glanced around and noticed there weren't any buckets or anything like that in sight. He asked, "How did you make this?"

Amethyst just grinned, and in demonstration, shapeshifted both of her hands into shovels. Then with a wave, she invited him to help. Steven really didn't need much encouragement.

He wasn't anywhere as good as Amethyst with shapeshifting, however. His hand-buckets and hand-trowels weren't as big as hers, and if he tried to hold them too long, he got all shaky and felt a headache begin to pound at the back of his head. Sometimes it was just easier— and better— to use regular, non-shapeshifted palms. But together they built a whole new extension to the sandcastle, one with an archway and little shells pressed into the sides.

Unfortunately, it was not to last. Water began to lap at the outside of the moat, and Steven had to shuffle away to keep from getting wet. "Tide's coming in," he moaned. "It's gonna all get ruined…"

"You kidding? This is the best part." Amethyst cackled as the waves began to wash away the sand foundations, and Steven had to admit, as sad as it was to see their hard work collapse, it was kind of cool too.

They were enjoying the destruction of the tallest spire when there was a splash, and out of the ocean came Garnet.

Steven felt every muscle in his body stiffen as she slowly drew closer to them.

She was wrestling with some weird jelly animal creature. Some kind of monster, the same type he and Pearl always avoided when they explored Gem locations. She easily crushed it in a single squeeze, and it exploded into a puff of smoke. With a wave of her hand, she bubbled the gem and sent it off with a tap.

"Hello," she said, completely casual.

"Heya, G!" said Amethyst.

"Uh, hi," said Steven cautiously.

Garnet spared a glance at their crumbling creation. "Nice castle." She looked at Steven, and adjusted her glasses. "Let's talk."

Steven rubbed his arms. "Um, okay."

She walked a safe distance away from the encroaching tide, and sat down, Steven and Amethyst following in her wake.

"I have questions for you," said Garnet.

Amethyst laughed. "Questions? _You_? Ya feelin' alright, Garnet?"

"Yes. These are important."

Steven wasn't sure why Amethyst found that so funny, but it didn't matter. He just wanted to get this over with. "Okay. Shoot."

Garnet said, "Do you intend to return to Homeworld and rule in Blue Diamond's place?"

Steven blinked, the question hitting him unexpectedly.

"Um…. I guess? Pearl has always said I can do that, but like, definitely not yet, 'cause cuz I don't know how to use all my powers and I still need to learn a lot about Homeworld and stuff. And besides, there's so much I want to do here! I'm gonna see every country on Earth, to start, and…" Steven squirmed, not really sure how to continue. He'd always assumed that one day he'd go and be a proper Diamond like his Mom, but to be asked so… bluntly was kinda scary. "I dunno," he finished finally. "Not for a while."

With how the Crystal Gems had made their distaste for Homeworld and the Diamonds all too clear, Steven was expecting an unpleasant reaction. But Garnet didn't even frown. She just nodded, and said simply, "Sensible." A beat, and she continued, "What do you intend to do with Earth in the meantime?"

"... do?" Steven asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Like, you're not planning on janking it up, or anything right?" asked Amethyst, still poking idly at the sand.

"Uh, _no_ ," said Steven, a little offended. He tried his best to take care of his planet, as much as he could anyway. He was always recycling and picking up litter that could hurt his animal friends.

"Then what is your stance on kindergartens?" asked Garnet.

"Uh… well that they're pretty good?"

 _Now_ Garnet frowned. Amethyst even flinched a little at Steven's answer.

"I mean, they're important, right?" Steven elaborated. "I never went to one, but they sound really fun, and little kids need places to learn, so…"

"What?" asked Amethyst, confused.

"What?" asked Steven, equally so.

Garnet adjusted her glasses and said, "I believe we may be talking about different things."

It turned out they were. The Crystal Gems didn't mean pre-school; they meant the places where new Gems were created and incubated before coming out of the ground. The whole idea filled Steven with excitement, and he immediately wanted to go see one. Garnet agreed, saying it would be a good experience for him.

Amethyst, however, seemed much more reluctant. "What? C'mon, G. That'd be— boring. How about somewhere else, huh? Maybe that sweet spire thingy where we fought the giant bird? Now _that_ would be cool."

"What, a _giant bird_?" cooed Steven in wonder. "No way."

"Yes way, dude. This thing had like, five hundred gems in its belly, and I took it down. You shoulda seen it." She grinned, and wiggled her eyebrows. "And you _cooooullllldddd~_ "

"Okay, yeah, Kindergarten later. I wanna see _that_."

"So, whaddya say, Garnet?" Amethyst gave the other Crystal Gem the biggest, most pleading eyes she could, and after a moment, Steven joined in.

The fusion stared back at them, impenetrable behind her reflective gaze. "Okay," she answered simply.

And Steven suddenly felt nervous.

The last time Garnet had taken him somewhere to have a Vision, it hadn't exactly been… fun. He was kind of scared about what he might see this time.

"But I should… go ask my Dad or Pearl to see if I'm allowed to go," Steven said quickly. Amethyst scoffed and rolled her eyes, but Garnet touched her glasses, and then waved him along. He added, "Or see if they want to come with."

It wasn't that he hoped they'd say 'no'; he did really want to see Amethyst fighting a giant bird monster. It was just that he hoped that if they there too, they could tell him if the Crystal Gems were lying, or trying to trick him.

He took off down the beach, and it wasn't long before he heard Pearl's voice. He changed his course and made a beeline for it. As he got closer, he slowed. There were two voices; two Pearls', coming from behind the sandy slope that led up to the Crystal Gem cave.

"—n't see why you continue to serve him," said the White Pearl, her voice sharp.

"I do not expect you to understand," answered his own Pearl, her voice its usual soft tone.

It didn't sound like an argument. Not exactly. But nonetheless, Steven crept carefully over the sand and didn't dare peek around the slope, in fear of interrupting anything.

But maybe he should interrupt, if the White Pearl was being rude again.

He could had done that, or just left, except he kinda wanted to hear what they were talking about. It'd be good to to hear that rebel finally get put in her place by a _proper_ Pearl.

"Of course I understand." White Pearl's voice had softened, just a touch. "I know how hard it is, to be a Pearl. To feel small, afraid, powerless… But you're not. We're strong, we're intelligent, we can achieve anything we put our minds to!"

"And I put my mind to caring for my Steven."

Steven smirked. If the rebel Pearl was trying to turn his friends against him, she really was barking up the wrong tree.

White Pearl gave a grunt of frustration. "Don't you see how— _illogical_ you're being? You've said— in your words— he's _not Blue Diamond_. Your 'owner' is gone! So why do you enslave yourself to him?!"

"The same reason _you_ have enslaved yourself to your new owner."

 _Enslaved?_ thought Steven.

"I—! Rose is not my owner!'

"Of course." Pearl said the words in that soft, sweet way that nonetheless seemed to have an edge of sarcasm hidden somewhere within them.

"She is not!" And now White Pearl sounded truly angry, enough that Steven pressed himself against the sand dune and did not breath, for fear of her hearing him. "We are _equals_."

"Is it so hard for you to believe that I may be my Steven's… equal as well?"

The sound of footsteps across the sand. "Is he? I won't deny that he seems to care for you. But being true equals is… _more_ than that. It's listening to you, listening to your advice, looking out for you…"

"My Steven does that."

"And does he give you orders? Does he expect you to follow them, without question?" There was a moment of silence. When White Pearl spoke again her voice was low and pointed, "Do you ever fear that he'll _hurt_ you, if you do not... if you fail?"

Steven seethed with anger at the implication that he'd _hurt_ Pearl. What did this traitor even think she was implying, anyway?

But the moment stretched on, and Steven felt his anger drain away, replaced with a creeping cold that grew deeper and deeper, the longer his Pearl made no response.

Now the rebel Pearl's voice was soft, sorrowful. "You deserve better, Pearl. That's what Rose and I fought for. And I hope, someday, you realize that there's more to life then shackling yourself, like you have."

There was the crunch of feet on sand, coming quickly towards him. Steven stifled a yelp as he threw himself back, but was nowhere near fast enough to hide before White Pearl came up onto the path. Her eyes widened a fraction when she saw him, then narrowed again.

"Steven Universe," she said, by way of acknowledgement, and then stalked silently up towards the Crystal Gem base.

Steven glared after her and waited until she was out of sight before clambering over the other side of the sand path to see Pearl was just standing there, completely still, not even moving when he came into sight. It reminded him of how she'd been in his Vision, standing next to his mother's throne.

"Pearl?" he said. "Are… you okay?"

"Of course, my Steven."

Still, she did not move.

"It's just, the way you two were talking, you sounded…" He shook his head. Sounded _what_ , exactly?

"You heard that."

Steven rubbed his arms, trying to rub away that cold feeling that had settled inside his chest. "Uh. Yeah. Um. Sorry for eavesdropping, I guess."

"Ah. It is no matter, my Steven."

"Uh… Pearl… what exactly was she talking about? All that stuff about— owners and orders and stuff?"

A pause. And then, "It is as I have told you, my Steven. All Gems are made to serve their purposes, for their Diamonds."

"Well yeah, but what she was talking about, it sounded…" Steven shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Different. She called Mom your owner."

"Yes. It is as I've said. _All_ Gems are made for their Diamonds."

She said it like she had a hundred times before. And, like a hundred times before, Steven was ready to believe her. Wanted to, even. But the _other_ Pearl hadn't made it sound like that. She could've been lying. She probably _was_ lying. Trying to divide them. But Steven was pretty sure that the White Pearl hadn't known Steven was listening to her. To them. And Pearl would know the truth, so it wouldn't make sense for the White Pearl to lie straight to her face.

Pearl had always told him that a Diamond had to be ready to accept difficult truths.

"No, I mean-"

"I simply belo— served my Diamond more directly than most Gems, as I now serve you."

It felt like ice, crawling up Steven throat. "Wait— wait. You're not saying that… you don't think that I _own_ you, right?"

She finally looked directly at him. "Of course. It is as it's always been, my Steven."

In Steven's mind, one of his history textbooks opened up, filled with drawings of huge ships, decks filled with people in chains; those same people laboring in fields of cotton, underneath a burning sun; images of whips, of families being torn apart, of people trying to escape in the dark of night… He felt his throat tighten as bile rose. "Like a… Like a _slave_?"

"Oh, no. Nothing like that, my Steven."

The churning fear in his stomach settled a little. Pearl continued. "It is quite different than humanity's practice of slavery, which forces free people into unnatural and cruel systems. I was created _specifically_ to serve my Diamond, and provide her with every request."

"What do you mean, 'her every request'?" Steven asked. The churning feeling was back, and growing worse. "I thought you were her… friend, and her secretary and stuff."

"If she desired something, I provided it."

"What if it was something you didn't want to?"

The look Pearl gave him was uncomprehending.

"Why would I not want what my Diamond wants?"

"That… that still sounds like slavery!"

"It is not the same, my Steven, I assure you—"

But he couldn't just be assured. Memories were rushing past Steven's eyes; all the times that Steven had told Pearl to do something, or asked her to do something for him, and she'd clearly disagreed, but…

"Pearl— is that— is that why you always do what I say? Because you— you think that you— _have_ to?"

"I don't think that, my Steven. I know it. A Pearl must obey her Owner's orders."

 _Owner_.

"Is that— is that all I am to you? Your— your _Owner_?"

"No, my Steven, of course not—"

She reached out to him, but Steven staggered back, feeling like he was going to throw up. "I thought— you're my Guardian, Pearl! I thought that you.. You stayed with me cuz… you you love me, not because you—"

"I do love you, of course. You are my Diamond, my Steven—"

Another memory snapped into Steven's head, something dim and vague. Of waiting by the streetside, and asking Pearl why she called him that: _'It is a term filled with the respect a Diamond is deserved.'_

 _'Do you call anyone else that?'_

 _'No. I am no one else's, but yours.'_

Steven recoiled in horror.

It suddenly _all_ made sense. The other Pearl's cold demeanor, the way she glared at him, the reason she'd got so mad when Pearl had started cleaning up, or when Steven had—

"The other Pearl," Steven asked, slowly. "Why did… why did she rebel?"

"The renegade is exactly that," Pearl said, after a moment. "A traitor. She ran away from her owner."

Garnet's voice from yesterday morning echoed: ' _Pearl fought hard for her freedom. That is the underlying tenant of Crystal Gem philosophy. The freedom to be yourself, and to make your own decisions._ '

He shook his head. He… he didn't want to believe it.

But he'd already seen— seen his Mother wanting to execute Ruby, just… just for a simple _mistake_. Why was it so hard to believe that— that she'd keep slaves, that—

Because that had been a long, long time ago. Ages ago! Maybe she'd been like that once, but she'd changed! She had to have changed! Because Mom— Mom had been a wonderful person. Dad had told him all sorts of stories. About the poems she'd written, and how she's started to learn to draw, the first time she'd eaten food and she'd been startled by the taste she'd burst out laughing, and how shocked she'd been the first time she heard a bird talking— How they'd spent long nights holding hands, Mom telling Dad all about the stars...

Dad had loved her. And Dad was the nicest person ever. He'd never keep a slave.

Right?

"My Steven," Pearl said, pained.

"Don't call me _that!_ " Steven snapped. Pearl froze in her steps.

He was shaking. His brain felt cold and fuzzy and— already static was already gathering on his skin, snapping and sparking against his clothes.

One grew particularly large; exploded with a large _crack_. Pearl flinched backwards.

' _Do you ever fear that he'll hurt you_?' The other Pearl's words boomed in his head.

And Steven… Steven _had_ hurt Pearl. Never— never on purpose, at least, not in years, not since he'd gotten mad as a little kid. But even more recently, there'd been times he'd gotten— angry, and he hadn't been able to stop himself, and the lightning had just sort of— burst out of him, and hit her—

Later, usually, when he'd calmed down, he'd go say sorry. Ask Pearl if she was okay. And her answers were always the same kind of thing: _I am fine, my Steven. Do not worry about me, my Steven. How are_ you _, my Steven?_

That lightning had brought Garnet to her knees with pain, left her sobbing on the stone ground of the garden.

Pearl was scared.

She was scared of _him_.

His vision was blurry now, but he could see that, the way she was holding her hands to her chest, the way she was backed away from him.

And still she said, "Please, my Steven—"

" _Stop_!" Steven cried. "I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Of course." She was bowing her head, shaking, holding her hands out placatingly. "My apologies—"

But she was just— she was just listening to his orders.

Because he'd just given her an order. Without even thinking about it. Like he _always_ did.

Steven shook his head, turned around, and tears streaming down his face, began to run.

He didn't know where he was going. His first instinct was the van— but no, that would be the first place Pearl would check, and Dad would be there, and he'd want to know what was wrong. He wanted to go back to the Palanquin, to the forest, find a quiet spot in the trees, where Nari and his other friends could come and comfort them in their quiet, animal ways— but the warp pads were in the Temple, and he couldn't go there, couldn't let one of the Crystal Gems see him like this-

So he just ran, ran and ran, down the beach, past the fence, down the boardwalk— some people, strangers, saw him and called out, but he didn't slow, didn't stop-

He needed somewhere quiet, somewhere he could be alone, somewhere he could think—

Wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his hoodie, he saw some docks. Under there. In the darkness. He hurried underneath the dock, its cool shadows feeling good as the sun fell away from him. He came to one of the dock's legs and leaned against it for support, gasping for breath in between heavy sobs.

Steven let out a heavy breath and was about to truly cry in earnest… when he realized he wasn't alone under the docks. Leaning against a different leg of the dock was another person. Dark hair poofed out in a cloud like Amethyst's new style. Their face was hidden, but judging by how their shoulders were shaking, it looked like they were crying as well.

Steven thought about leaving, giving the person some privacy. But… what if something was really wrong? What if they needed _help_?

So, after a moment of internal debate, Steven began to creep forward and said in a small voice, "Um, hello? Are you alright?"

The person sniffled before wiping their face and looking up at him. Eyes widening with surprise and embarrassment.

It was a girl, Steven now saw. She looked about his age, maybe a year older. The area around her eyes were red. She'd obviously been crying for a while.

The girl wiped her eyes again before shaking her head. "Oh, no. I'm fine. I… I just needed… a place alone."

Steven sniffed, and despite everything, chuckled.

"I guess it's one of those days, huh?"

The girl smiled weakly, "Yeah. I suppose."

A moment of silence passed between them, before Steven asked uncertainly, "So… are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the girl said. "Just… my parents being… unreasonable. Not letting me go on my school trip." She shrugged, before continuing, "How about you? Are _you_ okay?"

Steven nodded. "Yeah, just… well not my parents, but my Guardian. Got into an… argument with her."

"Oh. Yeah, arguments with parents, or guardians, are never fun," the girl said. She smiled again, though this one a bit more full. "Guess it feels a little better knowing I'm not the only one having troubles like that today."

Steven returned her smile and said, "Yeah. Same." He walked over to the girl and after a moment, sat down next to her. "So… Um, my name is Steven."

"Connie," the girl returned. "It's good to meet you, Steven."

"Yeah. It's good to meet you too, Connie."

oOo

 **Authors' Note:** Man, for some reason, people seemed _really_ interested in having these two kids meet. No idea why...


	21. Friendships

**Chapter Twenty-One: Friendships**

"So you don't live in Beach City?"

Connie shook her head. "No, my parents and I live just out of town," she said. "I started coming because my Dad sometimes has security positions here. It's quiet, and there's a bus that runs here frequently, so…" She chuckled nervously. Talking to new people, especially people around her age was never that easy, which was why she spent most of her time with books, rather than other kids.

Oh. And a four-and-a-half-thousand-year-old rock-person who just _looked_ like a kid her age. That too.

Still. Steven seemed friendly enough, especially once they'd both managed to calm down a little.

"What about you?" Connie asked. "Do you live in Beach City?"

Steven shook his head. "No. My dad was staying here for a while, but I think we're going to be going back home soon."

"And where _is_ home?"

"Damyang," Steven answered.

Connie tilted her to the side. That _sounded_ like an Asian name, but she had no idea where it was. "Huh. And where is—" she struggled to get her mouth around the unfamiliar syllables- "Da-ma-yang?"

"Oh, sorry," Steven said quickly. "It's in Korea."

"Korea!?" Connie sputtered. She was not expecting that. "You've been all the way to Korea?"

"Well, yeah," Steven said easily. "I was born in Seoul, and about two years ago I moved to Damyang with my guardian, while my dad moved here to Beach City."

"Wow..." Connie trailed off. "If your dad moved out here, why'd you stay behind?"

Steven grimaced, and Connie quickly regretted her question. She could think of only one reason why a father would move so far away from his child and leave him in the care of a 'guardian'.

"Hey, I'm sorry, Steven," Connie hastily said. "I- You don't have to answer that. I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's alright," Steven replied, but he didn't meet her eyes.

Connie was about to say something, but for just a moment, she could have sworn she saw a quick flash of blue out of the corner of her eye. She looked down and didn't see anything glowing, but _did_ see Steven digging his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. She felt a burst of guilt push through her. She really had crossed a line.

"No really, Steven," she said. "Don't answer that. That's your business and I- I shouldn't have been prying. I'm sorry."

"No, it's really okay," Steven said, putting on a small smile. "Dad moved here for some business and… and I just really missed him."

"Okay," Connie said. "But you said that all of you were going to be going back home to Korea soon?"

"I think so," Steven said. "But… Dad might still have some stuff to finish up first."

Connie nodded along with Steven's explanation. Even though he was trying his best to sound light and casual, Connie could tell that the boy didn't really want to talk about what was going on with his family. She couldn't blame him. She didn't really want to talk about _her_ family right now either.

So, she needed a subject change, and she said the first thing that came to mind.

"So what's going to school like in Korea?"

Steven paused a moment before answering, "I don't go to school. Pearl, my guardian, she home schools me."

"Oh."

 _Homeschooling. Geez, he's lucky,_ Connie thought. Then she considered having to stay at home all the time, with only her parents, and started revising her opinion.

"Do you go to school?" Steven asked.

Connie nodded. "Yeah."

"Is it… fun?"

Connie shrugged. "I guess? I like the classes, even if sometimes they can be boring, and…" _None of the other students like sitting with me or partnering with me_. "We get to do cool discussions and experiments and posters and field trips and stuff."

"Field trips? Like what?"

"Museums, mostly, but sometimes we can go to like, sewage treatment plants or camping…"

"You get to go _camping_ in _school?_ "

"Yeah. _Assuming_ your parents let you," Connie answered, bitter. Her mind drifted briefly to an image of her hand, missing just one finger, and how that missing finger ruined _everything_. "Field trips with your class are pretty commonplace," she said.

"That's cool," Steven said. His hands were still in his pockets, but his posture had loosened a little, and his expression didn't seem quite as focused. "I guess Pearl and I went on field trips every now and then," he said. "We even went camping once… Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"It wasn't really planned," Steven said. "But we ended up staying the night at these ruins."

"Ruins?" Connie's eyes grew wide. "What kind of ruins?"

"Oh, I'm not sure," Steven said, shifting his posture a little in his rock. "Pearl just took us there so we could explore it a little."

"And you camped there overnight?"

Steven nodded.

"Wow…" Connie cooed. "That sounds so cool. Camping in ancient ruins, huddled around a fire surround by all that _history_."

"It was… alright," Steven said. "It probably would have been better with a whole class. With like, friends and stuff."

"Oh. Yeah, probably," Connie replied. "Not that it really would have helped me," she shrugged. "I don't… really know a whole lot of people my age."

"You don't?" Steven asked. "But aren't classes in school filled with people your own age?"

"Well yeah," Connie conceded. "It's… not that I don't _know_ anyone my own age. I just… don't really have many friends, is all. _Not that it bothers me_ ," Connie quickly added. "I'm fine just reading a book or something."

"Yeah, I don't really have a lot of friends either," Steven said slowly. "I mean, I know Nari and Tom and… others. But they're not _humans_." He looked down at his lap. "So I usually just draw."

A heavy silence descended over them as Connie silently berated herself for being so stupid. Talking about having no friends. Yes, that was the _perfect_ subject to unload on someone you'd just met. Brilliant strategy as always, Connie.

"So, um," Connie stammered as she reached for her bookbag. "I sorta have some homework I need to do. I was going to do it on the beach like I sometimes do, but then I… well, yeah. You know…" She felt her face burning as she reached into her bookbag, withdrawing a binder and a thick textbook. "So if you need to go, you can."

Steven chewed his lower lip. "Do you _want_ me to go?"

"W-well only if you want to!" Connie quickly said. "But, you know, I'm just going to be doing homework, so…"

Steven sat there silently for a moment before he began saying, "I could help you with your homework, if you want. Pearl always says I do really well in our lessons."

Connie nodded, even though she was unsure how much help Steven could be. Beyond being taught by, presumably, Korean standards (which Connie was unsure how or if they differed from Delmarva standards), she wasn't one hundred percent sure on the homeschooling. Granted, most of that was just stereotype, a stereotype from her _Mom_ nonetheless, but it was still a little hard to shake.

But it wouldn't hurt to let him help. If she had to, she could always redo whatever parts she needed to when she got home later.

"Okay," she said as she opened her textbook to the bookmarked page. She pointed at a group of several algebra problems. "I need to solve these but, to be honest, math isn't really my strong suit."

Steven scooted closer to her and looked at the open textbook. "Yeah, I don't really like algebra. It's pretty boring. I like it better when Pearl teaches me about things like history and geography."

"I know, right?" Connie said, looking over at him. "Math is important and everything, but I'd rather be learning about history or literature."

Steven nodded, "Yeah. Though these don't look too difficult." He pointed at the first problem. "For this one, 'x' is three."

Connie blinked unbelieving at him. She looked at him, then the multi-step problem and then back at him. "You did _all_ that in your head?"

"Yeah. Like I said, these aren't too difficult."

Connie looked back down at the textbook before opening her binder to a blank sheet of paper and began copying down the problems.

It seems she had either misjudged the veracity of homeschooling or Korean standards of education were just that much more demanding.

"Okay, so for that first problem, 'x' is three, right?"

Steven nodded in response.

Connie tapped the page and continued, "So if we're writing out the process to solve the problem, we start with the part in parentheses, then move on to exponents…"

* * *

In its first full day of being completely re-opened, _It's A Wash_ got a lot of customers, and it was pretty clear that this wasn't because the entire population of Beach City had just been _that_ desperate to get their vehicles cleaned. Part of it was just natural curiosity; everyone knew that the car wash had been mysteriously closed due to 'personal reasons' for about a week, and while no one openly pried, it was clear that folks wanted to know why.

But that was only part of the reason for the crowds today.. The real thing everybody wanted to know was—

"What's this I heard about you having a _kid_ , Greg?" Barb roared, socking Greg playfully in the shoulder.

It _was_ a friendly gesture, so Greg laughed even as he rubbed at the spot which would most certainly bruise over the next day. "Well, exactly that."

She shook her head dramatically. "How could ya keep something like that from us, eh?"

"I didn't _mean_ to keep it from you," Greg lied. "It just… never came up. He's been living overseas until now, so it was just— easier _not_ to talk about it."

As expected, Barb's face softened. "Ah, geez. That's rough. Kid stuff can be hard sometimes…"

Greg nodded sympathetically. Barb would talk about her daughter Sadie at every opportunity— mostly heaping on praise for what a good worker she was, how great she was at baseball, and swimming, and a dozen other assorted hobbies. Sometimes, though, a sort of undercurrent of uncertainty became clear— the same kind of worries most parents had for their kids, about friends and dating and future jobs…

Greg supposed it was something most parents thought about. It was something _he_ had thought about. But, compared to current times, that seemed much more simple and straightforward.

"I'm guessing Sadie's the one who told ya about Steven?" Greg asked.

"Sure did. Sounds like a real cute kid. When am I gonna meet him?"

"Probably soon," Greg promised. He still felt guilty about having to hide Steven from his Beach City friends. "He'll be sticking around for a while. I can bring him along to our next cards night. It's at Vi's, right?"

"Sure is! That'd be great. Steven could meet Onion— they're 'bout the same age, yeah?"

"Steven's a few years older, but yeah," Greg agreed. The thought hadn't even occurred to him, but it filled him with a warm glow. It'd be good for Steven to make some friends, aside from the animals that lived around the Palanquin.

They chatted for a little longer, Greg occasionally spraying whatever car drove up, but the lunchtime rush was well and truly dying down now. He was just laughing at Barb's post-office politics story when a new voice cut through the air: "Oh, Mr Universe~!"

Greg's stomach dropped at the sound of his own name.

Still, he made himself paint a smile onto a face as he turned towards Rose Quartz. The smile did grow a bit more genuine when he saw Amethyst in tow behind her. "Hey guys," he said. "What's up? You didn't break that phone already, did ya?"

"Huh? Oh, no," said Amethyst. "Just wondering if you've seen Steven around?"

"Not since this morning. He told me he was going off to go see you guys."

"Oh _come on_ ," said Barb. "Your _magical_ friends got to meet your kid before me?"

"Yep!" said Amethyst, unabashed.

Rose smiled. "Hopefully you'll get the chance soon. He's such a truly _fascinating_ being."

Barb blinked at the odd phrasing, and Greg decided to intervene before things started getting out of hand. "Uh— so, did Steven never show up, or what?"

"Nah, he showed up," said Amethyst. "But then he went off to go find you to see if you'd let him come with us to the Sky Spire."

"Uh… well, nope, he definitely hasn't asked me about that."

"Dang." Amethyst kicked the asphalt. "Well, you're his dad, right? Where'd ya think he could be?"

Greg scratched his head. It wasn't like Steven had any 'haunts' in Beach City. And on top of that, it was overcast now and threatening to rain. So hopefully wherever he was, it was somewhere inside. "Maybe try the arcade?"

"Oooh! Good idea!" Amethyst bounded off, running on all fours down the boardwalk.

"It's good to see them getting along, isn't it?" Rose Quartz asked, taking a few steps closer to Greg.

"It is," Greg agreed.

Barb caught his gaze, raised an eyebrow, gave a huge smile. " _Well_ , can't stand here yammering my mouth off all day. I got packages to deliver." She waved a hand. "See ya guys around."

Right before she turned, she gave Greg a _wink_.

Greg bit the inside of his cheek.

Barb's done her fair share of teasing about him and Rose. Vidalia too, for that matter, and even a few others from around the town. It was hardly a secret how much time the famous Mr. Universe spent with the mysterious magic lady. And Rose Quartz was hardly subtle in expressing her feelings. If Greg ever made stumbling protests to them that it was really nothing, they were just friends, well, that just made it all the more obvious, didn't it?

Rose was standing very close to him now. _Very_ close.

"I'm so glad all that… unpleasantness is over with," she said. She ran a hand through her bright pink curls. "Hopefully we can all move on now. Make a fresh start."

"R-right," Greg stammered. "We can all just be... friends."

" _Friends_ ," Rose Quartz repeated.

Sweat rolled down the back of Greg's neck.

Was she really doing this? _Now_? When less than forty eight hours ago she'd been keeping his son locked up in a cell?

She really _was_ an alien.

Greg had never intended to get close to Rose Quartz. He'd just wanted to observe the Crystal Gems from a distance. The fact his plans had so quickly become waylaid had felt equal parts lucky and terrifying. And he'd felt guilty about how _easy_ it had all been. It had been easy, to just have them hang around at the car wash or to wander over to their Temple. To sing songs, to ask questions, to joke, to… _flirt_.

After all, Rose Quartz was… attractive. Not just physically, with that soft face and luscious hair and striking stature. Her personality was _magnetic_. Likeable and charismatic. Greg could understand perfectly well how she had become the face of a rebellion.

But every time the guilt of his deceit had roiled in his stomach, he'd pushed it down. He had to keep Steven safe, no matter what. Had to keep Rose Quartz close. Had to learn all he could.

But that wasn't a concern anymore. He couldn't go on like this.

"Look, Rose…" he sighed, taking a step back. "I appreciate the interest, really. But I'm really not… looking for a relationship."

Rose blinked, surprised.

"Oh," she said, and Greg couldn't tell if she felt hurt or just confused.

"It's not that you're not nice," Greg assured quickly (for a given value of 'nice'.). "It's just, well, I'm not looking for a _romance_ right now, and after everything that's happened… I just want to focus on Steven."

Rose blinked again, then smiled. Hardly the brightest smile he'd ever gotten from her, but a gentle one, nonetheless. Maybe even a little amused. "I see. Yes, of course, Mr. Universe. I understand."

"Thanks." Greg sighed again, this time with relief. "It's just…. Hard, y'know? Moving on, after losing her…"

And all amusement dropped from her face. "Blue Diamond."

Greg didn't appreciate her tone.

"Yes, _Blue Diamond_."

"You… miss her," Rose Quartz said, tone oddly flat.

"Yeah, I do," Greg said, the barest of an edge sharpening his voice. "I spent six years with her, _and_ she's the mother to my son. Of course I miss her."

Rose's lips pressed together before she spoke, "You miss _her_. A Diamond."

"Yeah, a real Diamond. She was one of a kind."

Rose Quartz chuckled humorlessly. " _Oh_ , you have _no_ idea how right you are there."

Greg took a deep breath.

He was done with this.

He'd played nice, again and again and again. But he couldn't stand around and keep listening to all these insults and taunts making it out that Blue Diamond was some sort of irredeemable monster.

"Stop," he said. "I don't know what exactly your beef with Homeworld and the Diamonds is, but Blue was my partner. She was— she was a _wonderful_ person. She sang songs, and wrote poetry, and she got into art— she'd never done it before, never been allowed, but she was getting really good at drawing—"

"Oh. She'd never _been allowed_ to draw. I see."

Rose's voice was bitter with sarcasm. It was not a tone Greg had ever heard her use before.

Greg narrowed his eyes at Rose. "Her position as a Diamond really weighed on her, you know. Being one of the leaders of an entire species wasn't easy."

"I know the weight of being a leader—" Rose began, but Greg wasn't finished—

"She worked and worked, but there was always so much to do, and you know what? She was _tired_ of it. And I can't blame her! She was an emotional wreck for thousands of years after Pink Diamond's death— a death _you_ caused. How do you justify causing that kind of pain, Rose Quartz?!"

There was a moment of terse silence, as Rose Quartz reared up to her full height. Her gemstone glowed menacingly, hinting at the power Greg might have just foolishly unleashed. It cast her face in strange pink shadows.

"How do _I_ justify causing that kind of pain?" she asked, voice low, and dangerous. "I _justify_ it on the backs of all the Pearls who were forced into servitude. On the backs of the Bismuths, the Rubies, the Topazes, and Flints, and hundreds of others. I _justify_ it by the barren planets that can no longer support life. I _justify_ it among the fields of shattered Gems who failed to make themselves _useful_. I _justify_ it by saving your planet and your species."

She leaned in close, so close that if she were human, Greg would have been able to feel her breath against his face.

"I shattered one, so I could save _everyone_. _That_ is how I 'justify' it." Her voice grew yet more cold, more quiet. "You are many things, Greg Universe, but do not presume to judge me or my actions."

And then, without another word, she left, leaving behind nothing but the sound of her dress rustling in the wind.

And Greg stared after her, with no idea what to say.

* * *

Connie bent over her book, clicking her pen in and out as she worked on her essay on the French Revolution. Steven was sitting nearby, textbook spread out in his lap, helping her. Or, well, theoretically helping her. While he knew the basics of the French Revolution, he hadn't been able to offer much in the way of perspective on why the revolution had happened, or the positive and negative consequences of it. Instead he was mostly assisting in checking dates, names and the like.

In between asking her about pop culture, anyway. Not that she was complaining.

"So you've never seen Small Sorcerer Shin?" Steven asked as he turned the page of history textbook in his lap.

Connie dotted the end of her sentence before responding, "No. Are you sure it's been shown outside Korea? Or Asian markets?" It wouldn't be the first time Connie would have missed a show or game because of restricted releases.

"Why would they keep it just in Korea?" Steven asked earnestly. "It's really good. Everyone should see it. It's got magic, adventure, and a wise, magically enchanted, talking hat as a mentor!"

"Well," Connie said, turning to another fresh page in her binder. " _You_ have no idea about the Spirit Morph Saga. It just never really got released where you live."

Steven pursed his lips before saying, "Well that's dumb. Spirit Morph Saga sounds really cool."

"Oh, it is!" Connie enthused. She had just finished the penultimate book in the series, so her hype was at fever pitch. "Lisa Widicker is one of my favorite characters of all time. She's smart, brave, and always willing to help out others. And she's got this _wicked_ sword!"

Steven smiled. "She does sound really cool. Maybe when I get back to Korea, I can—"

He stopped suddenly and at first Connie wasn't sure why, until a single rain drop landed on the page of her binder. And then one landed on the top of her head. Then her hand, and then-

"Great, it's starting to rain," Connie moaned as she snapped her binder shut and hastily put it away in her bookbag. The shadows of the dock, combined with her conversation with Steven had made her completely miss the rapidly clouding sky. But now the pitter-patter was impossible to ignore, quickly transforming into something heavier, as water began to drip through the gaps in the wooden planks above.

Steven handed her the textbook and she put it in her bookbag right before zipping it shut. "So, I guess you're going home?"

"Yeah. If it's raining, my parents are going to want me home." She sighed. "And now I get to run to the bus stop _in_ the rain."

"Oh, well you don't have to do that," Steven said. "I bet my dad would be willing to take you home."

"That's alright. I don't want to impose."

"No, really. I don't think he'd mind. Come on, he's not far."

They both stepped to the edge of the dock and stopped. It was raining rather hard now. Even if they made a run for it, they were sure to get soaked. Connie looked over at Steven, who also seemed to be mulling over their options, when suddenly they heard someone call out his name.

"Steven!"

Connie looked around, but didn't see anyone. However, Steven pointed his gaze to the sky as a smile grew on his face. "Hey, Lapis!"

Connie looked up and saw a bright vivid _blue_ person land gently from the sky in front of them, joining them under the dock. She was noticeably dry.

"Stars, Steven. We've been looking for ages." The person, Lapis, had her hands on his shoulders. "When you just disappeared, we were _worried_. We had no idea where you were or-" She looked over at Connie, giving her a look that was one part curiosity and two parts annoyance. "Who's this?"

"This is Connie! I've been hanging out with her all afternoon."

"Huh. Okay." Lapis stood back up. Connie noticed how the water just didn't touch her skin, rolling off as if there was a forcefield around her. "Come on. Let's get you back to the car wash."

"Alright. Connie and I were just about to try and get back there anyway."

Lapis's brow furrowed as she glanced over at Connie. "Why is she coming?"

Connie grimaced at her, but otherwise gave no response.

"Cause we're going to see if dad will take her home. Since it's raining."

"Oh. Alright then." She shrugged as she turned around and raised an outstretched hand into the air. "Stay close if you want to stay dry." She stepped out into the rain, Steven and Connie following close behind her, and as she said, they were staying completely dry, despite the rain continuing to fall. Looking up, it was like being surrounded by an invisible dome.

Connie thought it was amazing and odd, until she got an answer to her unspoken wonder. Between Lapis's shoulderblades was a bright, water drop shaped gemstone.

She was Gem, just like Amethyst.

She looked at Steven, who was still following silently behind Lapis.

"Excuse me? Lapis?" Connie said. The woman looked back at her. "Are you a Crystal Gem?"

" _No_ ," she snapped, and started walking faster.

Connie shrank back, not sure what she'd done to offend. Steven gave her an apologetic grimace, but offered no explanation.

 _It seems_ , Connie thought to herself as she hurried to keep up, _that there's more to this Korean kid than being able to do Algebra in his head._

* * *

Of all the days it had to rain, it had to be the one where Greg's family would go missing.

He'd been looking all over for them. The van, the car wash, the restaurants, the arcade, Funland— nowhere to be found. To make matters worse, the rain made it all the harder to see anything.

Before, it had mostly been annoyance, frustration— after his conversation with Rose Quartz, all he'd wanted to do was find Pearl and get some proper answers. But now, she was gone too, and Greg was beginning to genuinely worry. If the Crystal Gems themselves hadn't been the ones who'd alerted him that Steven was missing, he might have suspected that they were the ones responsible. Could the pair have gone somewhere? Warped back to Korea, maybe? Surely they wouldn't have done that without telling him...

"Dad! Dad!"

Relief surged through his chest.

"Steven!"

There he was, his little boy coming through the rain in some sort of magical water bubble, not kidnapped or mauled by some monster or otherwise hurt.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" cried Greg.

"Geez, Dad, I'm fine," said Steven, stuffing his hands deeper into his pocket.

"He was under the docks," Lapis said.

"...Mr. Universe?" said a third voice. " _He's_ your Dad?"

"Connie?" Greg said, noticing the girl for the first time. "Nice to see you again. And, yeah, Steven's my son." He rubbed his neck. "Been getting a lot of that the past few hours…"

"Wait? You guys know each other?" asked Steven, looking between Greg and Connie.

"Yeah. Mr. Universe— er, your Dad— he helped me when I got in an… accident, a few months back." She shuffled her feet, and Greg noticed how she curled her left hand up. "Sorry if we worried you."

"Yeah. Sorry. We were just hanging out," said Steven.

"It's okay, it's okay," Greg assured, letting out a huge breath. He had to admit, this past week had left him more than a little high-strung. "I don't suppose Pearl was hiding under the dock with ya by any chance."

"No," said Steven, shortly.

"I didn't see her," said Lapis. "I'm going to go back to looking." And without another word, she lept up and took off into the sky. Connie stared up in wonder. Both kids would've gotten soaked if Greg hadn't offered them his umbrella.

He also offered Connie a ride home— which she accepted, after a little bit of stammering ' _oh no really_ ' and ' _I can catch a bus no problem_ '. But Greg was insistent that it was no problem on his part either… especially since Steven seemed equally eager to give her a lift.

It put a smile on an old man's face.

(And if it occurred to him that it was still early on a Friday afternoon, and that Connie should probably be in school… he didn't mention it. Connie seemed like a good kid. Not his place to go poking his nose into her business.)

Greg asked a couple questions, following up on Connie, asking how she was doing, but for the most part didn't pry. It was nice, being able to put on some quiet tunes, stare at the road, and listen as the two kids chatted in the back of the car. Hardly any time seemed to pass at all before they pulled up outside the Maheswarans' townhouse.

Even though they'd hardly met under the most ideal of circumstances— the two parents understandably panicking about Connie's severe injury and miraculous healing— Greg liked Doug and Priyanka Maheswaran. Priyanka was… intense, admittedly, but Greg respected her. Doug seemed like a nice guy— and Greg didn't just think that cuz he owned every single one of the Mr. Universe albums. After the day he'd had, he sure wouldn't have minded a chance to catch up with them.

But when they pulled up, Connie didn't invite them in. She just said. "Thank you so much for the drive, Mr. Universe. And it was great meeting you, Steven."

"Yeah, you too," Steven replied— and did Greg catch him blushing in the rearview mirror? "Uhhh— Are you gonna be back in Beach City anytime soon, or…?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I should be. We should meet up! If you're not flying back to Korea, that is…"

"No! I-I mean, I can definitely be around! I don't know when though, so, uh, maybe... um, just come by the car wash? Or we could meet up at the docks..."

"Sure! The sounds awesome!"

"Okay, great! See you soon, Connie!"

"Yeah! Bye, Steven! Thanks for the lift, Mr. Universe!"

Steven was grinning like a goon as Connie jumped out of the car and hurried up the steps, the two of them taking one last chance to wave at each other.

Unfortunately, that smile died shortly thereafter, with Steven retreating into a sullen sort of silence. And without the children chattering, there was nothing to distract Greg from his own restless thoughts.

So he took his son on a shopping trip.

First, they swung by an electronics store. Greg needed a new phone and, especially after today's disappearance, he realized it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure Steven had one too. The kid had a lot of fun testing out different phone models and checking out any cool accessories he might like to have. He eventually settled on a smartphone a bit on the higher end, with a wide, highres touchscreen. He also picked out a phone cover with faux-ink calligraphy art of a bird of prey on it.

They stopped by a shoe store next. The hiking boots Steven usually wore in Korea weren't practical for the beach, so they got him some sandals, a couple of flip flops, a pair of aqua shoes for when he wanted to go into the water... Greg was starting to eye the G8tor brand aisle when Steven pulled him away to the counter.

They also went grocery shopping. Now that Steven was out and about again, it was time to get his diet back to something resembling normal. They bought enough food to fully stock the van's cupboards and mini-fridge— lots of fresh vegetables, some canned and dried fruits, several packs of tofu, a carton of eggs, and a small sack of rice. They also got a few treats for dessert, like chocolate chip cookies and a gallon tub of rich chocolate ice cream.

By the time they arrived at the carwash, it was five PM— and thankfully, Pearl was back.

Greg let out a sigh of relief he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Sure, he had known that she was almost certainly fine— Pearl was a Gem after all; she could take care of herself and had probably just needed some alone time— nonetheless, he was glad to know nothing bad had happened to her.

But it didn't take Greg long to realize that something still seemed _wrong._

"Wanna help with dinner?" Greg asked her, as he waved her into the van. "I was thinking _bibimbap_ or stir fry or something."

"Of course," Pearl said, bowing her head and making a beeline for the fridge.

"No! I can do it!" Steven said. He rushed ahead of her, practically blocking her. "You just sit down— if you want to."

Greg raised his eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He just got to work chopping onions.

It was like that for the rest of the evening. Pearl would start to do something— clean the vegetables, set the table, or even just pour some water— and Steven would be there, hurrying to beat her. Once or twice he snapped, " _No_ ," or " _Stop_ ," and she would freeze, and then _he_ would freeze, looking horrified. Greg caught him taking a moment to do his breathing exercise up to ten, something he only ever did when he was feeling on the verge of an emotional outburst. Pearl, for her part, ended up pressed up in the corner of the van, hands clasped over her breast.

When dinner was ready, Steven took his seat at the table. He kept glancing at Pearl, but neither said anything.

Noticing this, Greg urged Pearl, "Come on. Join us."

Without looking up, she padded silently to the table and sat down next to Greg.

Neither she or Steven spoke. Greg tried to prod a conversation into existence, but it kept fizzling out before it could even start, so eventually he gave up and just ate his food.

It was baffling. Just this morning, the two of them had been getting along perfectly, singing and cuddling and working together… Now, it was like this wall of ice had built up between them.

What was going on?

Steven took his own sweet time with his meal, pushing his rice and vegetables around the bowl for the most part. When he had finally finished eating, Greg decided to put his son's apparent newfound love for chores to good use. "Can you clean up, buddy?"

"Sure," Steven muttered, and began carrying the dishes to the sink.

Greg looked to Pearl and said in a low voice, "Hey, could I talk with you? Outside?"

She nodded. The two of them slipped out of the van.

Greg hemmed and hawed a bit before asking, "Hey, is everything alright? With you and Steven?"

"I… do not know," Pearl confessed. "He is upset with me."

"Oh jeez," said Greg, rubbing his neck. "Wanna talk with me about it? Maybe I can help out or something."

"No," said Pearl.

"Oh." Greg heaved out a sigh. He didn't want to push this. He knew that Pearl could be sensitive… and he also had to admit, that in some ways, she was closer to Steven than he was. She was the one who'd been living with Steven full time for the past two years, who'd been caring for him day to day. If she didn't want to talk about this, he wouldn't force it. "Okay. But if you ever need some help… I'm all ears. And anyway there's, uh, something else I wanted to ask you about…"

Pearl shook her head. "No, that is not what I meant. I do not _want_ to tell you about it. But I believe I should. You may be able to help."

"Oh. Okay. Um well. Shoot."

A long quiet moment, the kind Pearl fell into when she was seriously considering what to say. At last, she softly started, "You never understood the relationship between Blue Diamond and myself."

Prickles ran up Greg's arms.

Somehow, he knew this was going to be it.

"What… do you mean? I mean… you were her lady-in-waiting, but like… you were still friends though."

"Gregory, 'friendship' is not a concept Gems traditionally have."

This was a problem Greg had run into again and again in his time with Blue. Gems were aliens, and for them, so many words to describe relationships just didn't exist. "I know, but that doesn't mean it… wasn't there. You… you stayed together for thousands of years, you helped each other… I'd call that friendship."

"That was not friendship. That was my duty."

Greg licked his lips, Rose Quartz's words from that morning echoing through his head. "What— what're you saying?"

"Please, Greg," Pearl said. "This is where Steven got upset. I want _you_ to understand that this is simply a difference in our species. All Gems are created to fulfill a specific purpose, a specific duty. Blue Diamond's was to lead and rule us. My purpose was to serve at her side and do as she commanded."

Greg shook his head. "But it wasn't just that, right? You— you wanted to be with her. You were happy with her."

Another one of those silences.

"Those questions do not matter," said Pearl. "My happiness and desires are irrelevant."

"Don't— don't say that!"

"But it is true."

Greg took a staggering step backwards, bumping into the hood of the van. He stared at Pearl, all quiet and polite and demure.

' _I_ justify _it on the backs of all the Pearls who were forced in servitude._ '

"Pearl— Pearl, are you saying you had no— no _choice_ but to be with Blue?"

Pearl paused at the question. "I was her Pearl. I did as she commanded."

Greg braced himself against the van. "What if you _didn't?"_

She went very, very still. So still that she looked like marble.

" _Pearl_ ," said Greg.

Her voice was barely audible when she said, "That would be unthinkable."

It was a good thing the van was there, because Greg could feel his knees start to shake beneath him.

"No," Pearl said. "No, that is a lie. Such things _are_ thinkable. But the punishments for such behaviour is steep, and rightly so. To disobey your Owner is to create chaos."

Chaos.

Greg had heard Blue use that word before. About the war. ' _All those Gems shattered… buildings left in ruin… Nobody sure who they could trust, who was loyal… It was all utter chaos, all the worse when Pink was gone, and her people didn't know who to turn to—_ '

Now he was wondering.

"The Crystal Gems..." Greg said. "They went to war against the Diamonds. Why?"

"They disagreed with the order."

"The order," Greg echoed. "What 'order'? Why?"

"They did not abide by the Laws."

"... what kind of laws?"

"The Laws," Pearl said, again. She was very, very still, and took her time before answering. "The Laws that built the Empire. Each Gem, a Duty; each Duty, a Gem. The rebels did not want to abide by this most sacred tenet. It began with Rose Quartz, she who refused to fight in her Diamond's name. Who valued this planet over her purpose."

"... wait," said Greg. "You mean Earth? She fought _for_ _Earth?"_

"Partially." Pearl's face was like porcelain. "Our Empire needed this planet for a colony, to make new Gems. But the process would have destroyed it. Stopping its colonization was part of Rose Quartz's motives."

Greg stared. "But... Blue _loved_ Earth."

"She _came_ to love it." Pearl brushed the hair out of her face, so that Greg could see her eyes for the first time that evening. "The transformation she underwent after meeting you was remarkable. You taught her so much. Opened her eyes to the beauty of this planet. You gave her peace and solace like she never found on Homeworld."

Now, Pearl was smiling at him, one of those rare, bright, genuine smiles that Greg so cherished. But just then, it made him feel almost... nauseous, like looking at an otherwise delicious cake when you had food poisoning.

"But… before she met me… Blue wanted the Earth destroyed?"

"The Earth was property of Pink Diamond. She wanted it to be a colony, and Blue Diamond was prepared to do anything to fulfill that desire."

"So— Just... just let me get this straight. The whole war started because the Crystal Gems wanted to _protect_ Earth and humans?"

"No," said Pearl, and Greg was given the tiniest flicker of hope. "It started when Rose Quartz stole Pink Diamond's Pearl."

That flicker of hope was doused in ice. " _What_."

"Gregory. Please—"

"No, _no_ , Pearl. What do you mean? You can't steal a _person_! Do you mean— she 'kidnapped' her, or what—?"

"She stole Pink Diamond's Pearl," she repeated. "This Pearl belonged to Pink Diamond, and Rose Quartz spirited her away, corrupting her with propaganda, making her act in ways no Pearl should."

Greg was speechless. Stole a _Pearl_. Like you could steal a chocolate bar or a phone or a wallet.

"The other Pearl— the Crystal Gem one— _she_ —"

"Yes."

The other Pearl. Head held high, all pride and sharp edges and fury.

Not stolen. _Definitely_ not stolen.

Free.

"She is a traitor," said Pearl. "All the Crystal Gems are traitors, Greg. Remember, Rose Quartz shattered Pink Diamond."

And now Greg was beginning to understand why.

"Pink Diamond… Pink Diamond owned her. And Blue... owned you." Greg felt bile burn in his throat. "And you don't think— you don't think that _Steven_ —"

"That was the nature of our disagreement, yes. I am his Pearl. I belong to him. But he is having trouble understanding."

"Damn right he is! Nobody owns you, Pearl! Not Steven, not anyone!"

"Please do not be angry, Greg."

"I'm not angry!"

But he _was_ angry. He was _furious_. Maybe more than he'd ever been in his entire life.

And more than that— he was horrified. At Blue. At _himself_.

Pearl... Pearl had been a slave for all these years, and he'd never even noticed.

And hadn't the signs been there? The way Pearl was so quiet. How she always walked behind Blue Diamond. How she'd never speak without being spoken to. How she'd do her best to fulfill Steven's every request, no matter how childish or impractical it was.

But no. He'd ignored it all. Told himself Pearl was just shy, just anxious, just eccentric. She was an alien, and so was Blue. Any oddness in their relationship could be chalked up to that—

He put his face in his hands. Fuck.

 _Fuck!_

He was so _stupid_.

He felt a light hand brush against his shoulder, and looked up to see Pearl. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears, and that blade of guilt just stabbed deeper into his stomach.

"Do not be upset," she told him. "This is not your fault."

"Yes it is! Holy crap, Pearl, I've been keeping you as a slave—"

"You have not," she said, voice patient, like she was talking to a young child or startled animal. "And regardless, Greg, you gave me a choice."

"... what?"

"The day Steven was born. You told me I could leave if I wanted. I chose to stay."

Greg blinked at her.

He did remember that, even though it was blurry— that whole day had taken on a dreamlike quality, Blue's death and Steven's birth all blending together into something strange and surreal. He _had_ told Pearl that, had given her the option of leaving.

But he hadn't meant it like _that_. He'd just meant that Pearl shouldn't feel obligated to become a substitute parent.

"I chose to pledge myself to Steven. To be his, until I am no longer of any use."

"That's— that's not something you get to chose, Pearl," Greg said. "That's not— that's certainly not fair on you, and— it's not fair on Steven. He's just a kid. He can't understand this stuff."

Pearl was just staring at him, eyes huge and horrified.

Greg made himself meet those eyes. Made himself stand up straight. Made himself say, "Steven's my son. And I am not letting him have a slave. I refuse."

Now Pearl was far from still. She was shaking, shaking all over.

"But he is my _Diamond_. I am his _Pearl_."

"You're not _his_."

"I…" Pearl stared around, looking dizzy and dazed. She stared at Greg, then at the van, then at nothing at all. In a hoarse whisper she said, "Very well. Then I shall go."

She turned, and with that strange Gem speed, took off, too fast to follow, even if Greg had tried.


	22. Reprieve

**Authors' Note: So, we have something of an announcement. Due to all three of our lives suddenly getting a lot busier (and one of us getting battered by a hurricane, with another one eying her homestead) we are, temporarily, switching to an every-other-week update schedule in order to give us some breathing room to deal with real life stuff and still keep up the same quality of content that we've brought you thus far.**

 **We hope you understand and are willing to show a little a patience with this slightly slower update schedule. Rest assured, we're still hard at work on Faded Blue and we are striving towards getting back to our weekly updates, but in the meantime, we hope you continue to enjoy the story.**

* * *

Greg didn't know what to do.

He'd escaped the van and locked himself in the car wash toilet, holding himself over the sink, certain that he was going to vomit, but nothing came. He tried to sit down, but he was too skittish. He walked down the boardwalk, but people kept waving at him— Barb and Kofi and that nice Peedee kid, and he just— couldn't talk to them—

Somehow, he ended up at the Temple. It was a place he had been actively avoiding, ever since they'd set his son free. Why would he have wanted to be near the place Steven had been held captive, to where his captors _lived?_

But there he was, in front of that massive stone door, fist raised, preparing to knock.

It opened. A wave of dry heat hit him, knocking most of the breath out of him. Garnet stood there, framed in red light.

"You want to talk," she said.

It was so unnerving when she did that. But Greg nodded.

"Speak," she said.

"Slave," he gasped, and then tried again, because the words were coming out in the wrong order. "Did— Did Blue— did she keep Pearl as a _slave_?"

Garnet regarded him. "Yes. She kept everyone as slaves." Another pause. "She kept _me_ as a slave."

Greg was shaking, shaking, shaking. He felt a steadying hand on his shoulder, and nearly flinched away. When he looked up, Garnet's glasses were gone. Her three mismatched eyes seemed to stare into the heart of Greg's being.

"If you wish, I can give you a list of every cruelty I know Blue Diamond had committed. Every slave she kept. Every person she had tortured or executed. Every Gem she drove to madness." Her third eye closed, and her expression softened. "But I don't think you deserve that."

Greg did not answer. His mouth was dry.

"She never told you any of this," Garnet said.

He mutely shook his head.

"And you did not teach Steven her ideals."

Another shake.

"Then there is hope for him yet."

* * *

Lapis had been doing a lot of watching and searching that day, and it looked like she was about to do some more.

Her area of focus had been primarily on the Crystal Gems, looking out for any signs of duplicity on their part. However, it seemed that her focus had been misplaced. While there had apparently been a fair amount of turmoil that day, almost all of it had come from within her Court, small as it was.

She had only caught the tail end of the discussion between Steven and Pearl, and even then, she had been so high up, she hadn't heard anything that had transgressed. She had seen Steven run off in one direction, tears running down his face. After a moment, she'd watched Pearl head off in the opposite direction, not crying, but clearly upset, in a subtler, more restrained way.

And Lapis had hesitated. She hadn't known who to go after.

Which was ridiculous, of course. A Gem's first concern should always, always be for her Diamond.

But… perhaps her Diamond wanted to be alone just then. It had seemed so. And in any matter, it wasn't her place to inquire what had passed between him and his Pearl.

So Lapis had stayed up high, trying to stay on guard, but wholly unable to focus on her duty.

Eventually she'd given up, and sought both Steven and Pearl out. Instead she'd found a distressed Greg, desperately asking if she knew where they were.

Lapis wasn't sure what to make of the human. He existed entirely outside the order of the Courts, so there were no protocols for how to act around him. As an organic, he should have been ranked below even Chalks. But Steven clearly respected him and looked up to him— and he was her Diamond, so that had to mean something.

Besides, as far as she could tell, Greg's protective streak towards Steven rivalled even the most loyal, most elite members of any Court. Of course she'd help him look.

She'd found Steven hiding under a dock with some random human. For a moment, she'd been tempted to ask what was wrong. But she'd let the moment pass and simply returned him to the van which had become the Court's base of operations in Beach City.

She'd set off to look for Pearl.

Lapis had found her in a human shop, staring at a display of human clothing but making no move to acquire it. She'd been oddly hesitant to return to her Diamond, and Lapis could only assume that she had been reprimanded for something (although she couldn't imagine what; from all she'd seen, Pearl's service had been exemplary). But Lapis had encouraged her to return to her duty, and Pearl had listened.

Now Lapis was wishing she hadn't.

There had been another discussion— or perhaps an argument, judging from the raised voices. Not between Pearl and Steven, but rather with Greg.

And whatever Greg had said, it had sent Pearl fleeing.

This worried Lapis. Even when Steven had been captured, even when they had no certainty that he wouldn't be shattered, Pearl had remained calm. What could have the human had said to disturb her so?

Lapis shook her head. That wasn't important right now. With a furious flash of wings, she set off in Pearl's wake.

She had gone in the direction of the Crystal Gem Temple, but by the time Lapis had arrived, there was no sign of Pearl. She could have kept running down the beach, but Lapis doubted it. She rushed to the warp pad and arrived in the forests of Korea.

 _What am I even doing?_

Proper Gems didn't concern themselves with Pearls that didn't belong to them. Proper Gems had no business worrying after Pearls— after all, they were just pretty little things that existed in the background, silently and diligently doing their duties.

And Lapis was supposed to be a proper Gem.

Or she had been, back on Homeworld. But five thousand years had passed and she was a long way from home.

Right now, she was on Earth— where Pearls spoke their minds, turned harmless objects into weapons, and were forces to be reckoned with. Right now, she was looking for one such Pearl, and she couldn't help wondering if all the other Pearls back home could be the same...

She pushed the thought aside. There were more pressing matters at hand.

"Pearl!" Lapis cried.

No response.

She flew directly to Blue Diamond's Palanquin, but there was no sign of Pearl there either. Lapis watched the sheer curtains billow in the light breeze, and allowed herself to pause for a breath.

It had always seemed peaceful here. She wished they could come back to this place and go back to those quiet days. She wished they'd never left...

She shook those thoughts out of her head. Then she was off again.

Lapis searched through the trees, near the river, by the destroyed Palanquin of Pink Diamond.

Still no sign of Pearl.

Well, she wouldn't give up yet. One more place to try. Lapis would find Pearl, and whatever was wrong, she would make it better.

* * *

Soldering. The most secure methodology humanity had invented to forge a connection between two electrical wires. Twist the wires around one another. Cover them in molten solder. Heat shrink tube around the wires to secure the connection.

Simple. Precise. Straightforward.

But Pearl couldn't do it.

She'd done it before, hundreds of times. It was one of the only parts of mechanics that she flattered herself as actually being good at, and that just showed what a trap vanity was, because today she _couldn't do it_.

She glared ruefully at the globs of molten metal which now lay on the dusty orange ground. Splattered. Messy. Her Diamond would _not_ have stood for this.

She readjusted her grip on the soldering gun, leaned in close to the wires within the drill, and tried again. But the heated tip was shaking and shaking and she kept missing—

And then she dropped the gun.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Couldn't she do anything _right_? No wonder Steven had yelled at her, no wonder he didn't want her anymore—

"Here," said a voice.

Pearl did not yelp. She clamped her mouth shut and spun around

It was Lapis. _Only_ Lapis.

The other Gem bent down and picked up the gun. She gently took the two twisted wires from Pearl's still-shaking hand, and carefully applied the solder, followed by the shrink tube. She stared at it until it had gone solid, then slipped the wire into its correct place in the drill's carapace.

Pearl stood there and watched, feeling completely helpless.

"So," Lapis said, "what happened?"

Pearl said nothing.

"C'mon, you can tell me. I saw the whole thing."

"Then surely you already know," Pearl snapped.

Lapis patiently folded her arms. "I said I _saw_ , not that I heard. I was watching Steven from a distance."

Pearl turned back towards the exposed guts of the drill. "Then I believe it is best that you go back to watching him."

"He… told me this morning that's probably not necessary. That the Crystal Gems aren't gonna hurt him. They haven't made their move yet, so he's probably right." She paused. "Right now, I'm more worried about you."

"You do not need to worry about me," Pearl said, bowing her head.

"I'll be the judge of that," Lapis asserted. Just from her tone, Pearl didn't need to look up to know that Lapis had one hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side. What surprised Pearl, however, was the gentle hand warm on her shoulder, thumb lightly brushing her skin. "Look, I'm not going to force you or anything, but I'm sure I could help you figure things out."

Pearl stood there for several long moments, hands clasped at her breast.

Then she took a deep breath and told her.

Lapis didn't interrupt or interject. She just listened. Her brow furrowed, her mouth dipped into a frown, and she just listened. Once Pearl had finally finished, she went, "And they got mad at you for _that_?"

"Yes," said Pearl.

"That makes no _sense_." Lapis flopped down onto the ground. "I mean, that's just how Gems work. Steven knows that, right?"

"Yes," said Pearl, but it felt like a lie on her lips.

Lapis watched her closely, then patted a patch of ground in front of her, a silent invitation.

Pearl considered. She shouldn't be sitting, or talking for that matter. She had work to do, and a Pearl did not rest while she was on duty.

 _Steven, backing away, lightning sparking from his skin. Greg supporting himself on the hood of the car, looking like he'd been punched in the gut._

Maybe she wasn't on duty anymore. Maybe she'd been _dismissed_.

The very thought sent a cold chill through her entire being.

Pearl sat next to Lapis.

Off duty or not, proper presentation was still important. She folded her legs carefully beneath her and arranged her skirts. It gave her a moment to collect herself, to collect the correct words.

"I always strove to teach Steven about our culture," said Pearl. "But I had to be… careful about it. Steven was so unlike any Gem I had ever known. I did not want to confuse him."

She paused a moment, considering the past. Steven had always been so fascinated and curious about life on Homeworld and the colonies. But his perspective and mindset were not that of a Gem. His was entirely human, despite the diamond on his chest.

Telling him about the harsher aspects of Gem culture had proven harder than she had thought it would have been.

"I told him about many different Gems," she continued. "I told him that Pearls… that we serve many purposes. Dancers, singers, cleaners, attendants, secretaries…" At Lapis's confused look, Pearl explained, "A human job. Someone who sorts a superior's correspondence, filters calls, arranges meetings, and the like."

Lapis nodded.

The sun was very hot against Pearl's skin. She stared up at it, letting the hair fall out of her face and her eyes fill with the light, so she did not have to look at the other Gem.

"But never once did I explain to him how it truly works. That a Pearl must be that and nothing more. That she is assigned to one Master until the Master grows bored, or nothing remains of her but shards. That we are but simple servants, inconsquestial in the grand order." She closed her eyes. If they burned, surely it was only from the intensity of the sun. "I should have been truthful. It was my duty. But I didn't… I didn't _want_ to. He… looked up to me, respected _me_ , and I was afraid that if I told him the truth… then he..."

 _He would have stopped._

She should have just been honest with him. Let him know. Perhaps that ill-earned respect would have evaporated, but at least he would have understood. But now he and Greg hated her, hated what she was, and probably hated Blue Diamond too.

"Pearl…" Lapis said slowly, "you're _not_ inconsequential."

She blinked. "Pardon?"

"You're not inconsequential. I mean, look at what you've been _doing_. You've served your Diamond beyond that of any other Gem. Been the only one there for him. The one who's been teaching him what it is to _be_ a Diamond. And I'm not gonna say you did it perfectly." Lapis shrugged. "But I mean, well, what Gem _could_ , under the circumstances?"

There was truth there. Diamonds were perfection. It was impossible for something imperfect to be a model for that.

"So… Steven might be angry with you, but from the sounds of it, I don't think he's dismissing you. I think he's angry on your behalf or something. I don't get it, but whatever. Point is, he and Greg just want you to be happy."

"My happiness doesn't matter- only my Steven's-"

"Yeah, and he wants _you_ to be happy. So it does matter."

That left Pearl silent.

Lapis stretched out, rubbing her arm."I don't know… I guess I've just been… thinking about stuff. The Crystal Gems." Her expression turned stormy. "I will never forget what they did, the chaos they caused. _But_ -" Her nostrils flared. "I think I might be starting to get _why_ they did all that shale."

Pearl said nothing, waiting.

Lapis looked at her, and said slowly, quietly, "Did you like your position? With Blue Diamond."

"Of course."

Lapis's gaze was very sharp.

"...though, not as much as my position with Steven," Pearl confessed, before shaking her head. "But it hardly matters. I had my duties, and I performed them well."

"I know. I saw you, whenever I visited Court. Standing there, mostly. But look at you _now_." She smiled, a flash of white. "You're building a drill to the _center of a planet_."

"Not very well," said Pearl.

"Yeah, but you're still _doing_ it. I've never heard of a Pearl learning mechanics. Or running into battle against an enraged fusion. Or rescuing a Diamond from a rebel base. That's _impressive_."

The warmth that spread from Pearl's core was so fierce that she thought her gem might be glowing itself.

" _You're_ impressive," said Lapis. "Pearls aren't made for these things, but you're doing pretty well, considering. The more I think about you just standing around back then... seems like a waste. As much of a waste as I was in that fracking mirror."

Pearl shifted a little. "Lapis…"

Her eyes had changed. Changed to the way they'd been before. Shiny, white, reflective.

"...Do you know how I got trapped in there, Pearl?"

"I… do not."

Wings had unfurled from Lapis's back. She hadn't flown away, hadn't even gotten up, but they were beating wildly. "It was Pink Diamond's Court. They did it. They didn't even stop to think that maybe I wasn't—" Another fierce wing beat. "I was a loyal member of Blue Diamond's Court! I should have been entitled to a trial, to a Zircon!"

"I know," Pearl murmured.

Lapis stood. "Why _wasn't I given one?!_ "

"I… do not know," said Pearl, getting up as well. "Resources were scarce… the Diamonds—"

"—had other things to worry about. I know." The white glow faded. "I know. They were fighting a war. They didn't have time to worry about a single Lapis Lazuli. That's their job, to look at the big picture." Lapis sighed. Her wings dissipated. "Maybe this is wrong of me to say, but... I think I like it better this way."

"Better… which way?"

Lapis shrugged. "I don't know. Earth is hardly my favourite planet, but it's starting to grow on me. We stop this geoweapon, and then we can just… stay here. With Steven. Doing whatever we want."

"... if Steven will have me."

"Hey." Lapis stepped closer. "I wasn't joking, what I said earlier. He's… what's that word you used, when Rose Quartz approached us after we rescued him? 'Family?'"

Pearl felt her gaze focus firmly at the ground. "It was foolish of me to consider myself that."

"Our Diamond doesn't seem to think so," Lapis countered. "The way he reacted when you two reunited… That's not how an owner reunites with any regular Pearl." Lapis paused for a beat, before continuing, "You're special to him. And however exactly he thinks of you, you're still his. Of course he's going to want you back. He just… needs some space first."

Pearl closed her fists, feeling her nails dig into her palm. She hoped, and hoped, but— "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely positive."

Pearl hesitated a moment, then leaned forward, pressing her forehead into Lapis's. Lapis pressed back, reaching out to twine her arms around Pearl's waist.

"Thank you," whispered Pearl.

"Don't mention it."

* * *

Greg trudged his way back home on shaky legs. The sky had already grown dark; he hadn't expected to be gone for so long. When he reached the van, none of the lights were on. At first, he thought Steven had gone to bed early— today had been quite eventful after all— but as Greg drew close enough to grasp the door handle, he heard the faint sounds of one of his own songs coming from the inside.

— _never free  
just drifting—_

The music paused, followed by the screeching of a tape being rewound, and then the click of resuming play.

 _Without your love, I'm lost at sea  
Bound to none but never free  
Just drifting throughout life without purpose—_

Another pause, another rewind.

Greg pushed the door open, only to find Steven sitting in the dark in the dining area. He was hugging the gallon tub of ice cream they'd bought that afternoon, and seemed to have made a sizeable dent in its contents. On the table was the portable TV with a built-in VCR that Greg kept around for his tape collections. It was playing a music video of _Sky Blue Goddess_ at the moment. Not the official promotional video for the record label, but the personal one he had made by editing together a bunch of home videos of him and Blue.

The particular clip Steven kept rewinding was of Greg and Blue on a yacht, giggling and smooching cutely for the camera. Greg's heart ached at the sight, and despite all the things he'd learned about Blue recently, he couldn't help sighing out of nostalgia and wistfulness.

It was only then that Steven had noticed him standing there.

"Oh. Hey, Dad," he said glumly, before turning his attention back to the video almost immediately. He looked way too serious for someone who was eating ice cream while watching his parents being silly lovebirds on screen.

"I see you found my secret tapes." Greg forced a smile, trying to lighten the mood. He stepped closer and sunk down in the seat beside Steven. "I remember when we shot that. Funny story," he chuckled, but it sounded hollow to his ears, "you remember my old manager, Preston? Anyway, he was holding the camera that time, and I don't know if it was a school of flying fish or a big wave or something, but suddenly there was this huge _SPLASH!_ and poor Preston got soaked all over cuz he was trying to save the camera. He handed it off to me, and then I got splashed out of nowhere too! But somehow, the camera was still safe, so I tried to pass it to Blue. And then Blue, she was eyeing the camera cautiously as if it was the source of all the splashing going on. She was like, 'No, Greg! Give it to Pearl!' and 'Pearl, hold it for me!' and 'Pearl, take that nefarious thing away!' as if the camera was gonna bite her fingers off, and... uhh..."

He trailed off, partially because reliving that funny moment only made his heart feel heavier, and partially because Steven wasn't paying attention to him anyway. The boy was too focused on rewinding the tape for the nth time.

Eyes glued to the repeating clip, Greg chewed his lower lip thoughtfully. "Come to think of it now, maybe that story wasn't that funny."

"What do you mean?" Steven asked, finally turning around for more than a quick glance at his surroundings and noticing who was missing. "Dad, where's Pearl?"

Greg looked at his son and even in the dimmest lighting, he could see all the worry and concern reflected in his little boy's eyes.

"Pearl... left."

" _What?!"_ Steven jumped to his feet, the tub of ice cream almost slipping from his arms. "What do you mean she left? Why? Where did she go? Did you two have a fight? When is she coming back?"

"Whoa. Slow down, Shtoo-ball. I don't know where she went or when she'll be back. And it wasn't exactly a fight..." Sighing, Greg ruefully rubbed the back of his head. "We had a talk about why you two were acting so weird at dinner and... she told me."

"Oh."

Steven sat back down, deflating like a leaky balloon. He looked away in shame, and Greg really couldn't blame him. Greg knew too well where that was coming from, because he felt the same way. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't hesitate to talk things out to clear the air, but right now...

 _How do you even talk about this? About how someone who's been living with you for years, who has helped raise your son, who you've come to see as family... is only staying with you out of some twisted sense of obligation and duty because she's a slave—_ **your** _slave— this whole time and you never even noticed?_

 _How do you even_ start _that conversation?_

"...Dad, did you know?" Steven asked, hugging the ice cream tub close to his chest. He hadn't taken a single spoonful of it since Greg had walked in on him. There was no way that clinging to the ice-cold container could be pleasant, especially if it was pressing against Steven's gem, but then Greg also couldn't help wondering if doing so gave his son some comfort. "Did you know that Mom... that we... that Pearl is— was— that Pearl _is_ a slave?"

Greg shook his head.

"No. I thought she and Blue were friends. Best friends, even. The alien queen and her most trusted lady-in-waiting, her sole confidante." He sighed, meeting his son's earnest eyes. "I thought Pearl stayed with her, and with us, because she _cared,_ not because she was... _property."_

He could taste the bile rising up his throat as he almost spat out that last word. Just saying it like that disgusted him so much, about the situation, about his own ignorance. How could anyone do that to other another person? And how could _he_ be so blind to it, when it was happening right under his nose?

They both fell into a silence so heavy, it was almost tangible. Except the TV was still on, still showing two lovebirds having the time of their lives, and Greg could hear his own voice belting out:

 _You're a Sky Blue Goddess  
Bestowing a life of solace  
You came down here from your home in the stars  
Falling—_

The video abruptly shut off.

"Uh, sorry. Were you still watching that?" Steven sheepishly asked, turning the remote over in his hands.

"Nah, it's fine." Greg tried to give his son a reassuring smile, but he wasn't sure if Steven could see it in the sudden darkness. With the TV off, their only light came from a street lamp outside, spilling in through the tinted window.

Steven put the ice cream tub on the table and seemed about to clean up, when he suddenly paused to ask, "Dad? Can I ask you a question?"

The last time Steven had opened with that line, he had asked if Blue ever killed anyone— a question which had totally caught Greg off guard. And maybe, in retrospect, he should have followed up on that and asked what exactly had prompted Steven to ask something so horrible. But considering what they'd been talking about this evening, Greg figured he knew what to expect. He took in a deep, steadying breath, and answered, "Sure, Steven. Anything."

"Do you think Mom was... a bad person?"

' _No.'_ —that should have been his immediate answer. But he couldn't say it, not after everything he'd learned today, from Rose Quartz, from Garnet, from Pearl...

Especially from Pearl.

Greg let out a heavy sigh.

"Y'know, your mother, she... She really was wonderful, and gentle, and kindhearted, and all those good things I've told you about... To me. She was all of those things to _me._ But I'm starting to realize that she... wasn't anything like that to everyone else."

"Not even to Pearl."

"Not even to Pearl. No." Another sigh. Greg wondered if it was becoming a new habit. "But whether someone's good or bad can be subjective, kiddo. Things aren't always as clear cut as heroes and villains like in those cartoon shows you really like. Sometimes good people can do a few bad things and still be good people—"

But some things were objectively bad, weren't they? Unbidden, Garnet's words echoed in his mind:

' _She kept everyone as slaves.'_

"—and sometimes bad people can do a few good things and still be bad," Greg finished belatedly. He sighed again, tugging at his beard while he tried to figure out how to word his thoughts and feelings on the matter. "Thing is, there's a lot we don't know about Blue. I mean, I'd known her for years but she was thousands and thousands of years old when we met. Our time together was probably just a blink of an eye to her. Even if she had changed during her stay here... Man, I don't know." He massaged the growing crease between his brows. "Sorry, son. I just... I don't even know what to think right now."

"It's okay, Dad. It's... It's a lot to take in for me, too." Steven's hand felt ice cold and slightly sticky on Greg's arm, but Greg appreciated the warmth of the gesture nonetheless.

He pulled his son into a hug.

Steven squeaked in surprise, but wrapped his arms around his dad's torso the best he could. His arms still weren't long enough to go all the way around, but Greg noticed that the hands clutching at his shirt seemed bigger than he remembered. His little boy wasn't so little anymore.

"But what are we going to do now?" Steven asked, slightly muffled against his dad's chest. "A-about Pearl, I mean. I don't think she wants to leave us forever, but I don't want her to stay with us if it's just... following orders, o-or like she has no other choice." His voice turned into the tiniest, most vulnerable whisper. "I don't want her to keep being a slave."

"We could probably give her something," said Greg, giving his son a reassuring squeeze. "You know, as payment for everything she's done for us."

"Like a salary?"

"Yeah, but more like decades worth of back pay. It's the least we could do."

"Yeah..." Steven nodded, slowly at first, but soon growing so enthusiastic that he had to pull away from the hug. "Yeah, let's do that, Dad. We could get her her own apartment. No, her own _house!_ She could have a huge TV or... or her own home theater system! And a walk-in closet! And one of those adjustable beds! And a roomba so she'd never have to do another chore again!"

"That all sounds great, kiddo." Greg chuckled, and it wasn't forced this time. He lovingly ruffled his boy's hair. "But we should probably ask Pearl what _she_ wants."

They should have been doing that a long time ago, really.

"Yeah, you're right." Steven chuckled too, which probably meant he was gonna be okay, at least for now. He grabbed the ice cream tub from the table and dug in with the spoon, only to suddenly groan.

"What's wrong?" Greg asked.

"The ice cream's all melted." Steven sounded so disappointed.

"Well we can go get some more, if you like. I think there's a store down the street that'll still be open at this time."

"No, it's okay, Dad." Steven got to his feet to put the ice cream back in the freezer, yawning as he went. "I think I'll just head to bed."

"Good idea. I probably should too. I'm beat after everything today," said Greg. He felt… tired. Exhausted in a way that had nothing to do with the body, that left his limbs dragging. "And don't forget to brush your teeth, Shtoo-ball. Especially after all that ice cream."

"I won't."

They worked through their nightly routines robotically, without talking. Soon, Greg tucked Steven into his bunk and then climbed up into his own.

He stared up at the ceiling. Even with the covers pulled to his chin, he felt cold and exposed. He couldn't help remembering all those nights he'd fallen asleep with Blue, wrapped up in her hair like a hammock, as safe as could be.

He closed his eyes. It did nothing.

Below, he heard the sounds of Steven tossing and turning. He was having no more luck than him, it seemed.

After an unknown amount of time— could have been minutes, could have been hours— Greg heard a quiet whisper.

" _Dad?"_

Greg peeked over the edge of his bed. On the bunk below, Steven was clutching his blanket to his chest, his eyes shining in the dim light.

Well, sleeping alone didn't seem right for either of them. Not tonight.

"C'mon up here, kiddo," said Greg. He scooched closer to the wall and patted the space next to him. Steven climbed up, gratefully burying himself in the blankets and his dad's comforting embrace.

And for the first time in a long while, the father and son Universe duo slept snug in each other's arms.

oOo

 **Authors' Note:** Since some folks expressed interest, but there's no way for us to post them on this website because of coding- if you wanted to see the full lyrics and chords to 'Beloved Star', you can find them on our tumblr, or on Ao3 in the story 'Faded Blue: Extended Play'. It even has some swanky album cover art!


	23. Relief

**Chapter Twenty Three: Relief**

Greg woke up with a start, cold sweat soaking his shirt. Bad dream. Probably a _really_ bad one if it had woken him up like that, but for the life of him he couldn't remember what it'd been about. Any details had fled his mind as soon as he'd opened his eyes. Maybe it was better that way.

He rolled over onto his side, his back towards Steven, who had somehow wedged himself between his dad and the van's wall in his sleep. It was still dark out. Greg closed his eyes and tried to relax, hoping to drift back to sleep, but he was too uncomfortable, too riled up to manage it.

In the end, he decided to get out of bed as quietly as he could (he didn't want to wake Steven), grab the nearest musical instrument he could find (a concert ukulele), and head out of the van into the cold, early morning air.

For as long as he could remember, music had always helped him sort through his feelings, especially when the emotions churning inside him were more intense than usual. That was how he'd written a good number of his songs, actually. There was just something _there_ , in the feel of strings under his fingertips, in the release of emotional energy through his voice, in the weaving of sounds and rhythm and musical harmony. Different chords had always held certain meanings for him, especially when they were grouped together in a song's context— much like how a poet would utilize words, or a painter would colors.

At the moment, he was idly strumming the chords to _Sky Blue Goddess_ , probably because he'd heard it on repeat the night before and it got stuck in his head. He could feel the tension in his shoulders melt a little each time his fingernails hit the strings. It started with a simple rhythm: down, down-up, up-down-up; down, down-up, up-down-up. _D_ always had a down-to-earth feeling, _A_ gave a sense of adventure, _B minor_ heralded something important, _G_ was steady and somehow romantic...

But soon, the chords he played changed into something much more melancholic, the rhythm into a slow and somber pace. Even the lyrics he sang were different from the original, until it became an entirely new song:

 _I don't even know if I really knew_ _  
_ _What kind of person was the real you_ _  
_ _You've taken all what the stars have to offer_  
And even the Earth was just part of your coffer

 _You're a Sky Blue Goddess_ _  
_ _But that doesn't mean you're made of kindness_ _  
_ _I don't really know what to think anymore_  
Learning the truth shook me... at my very core...

Eyes tightly shut, he sustained that last note for as long as he could. His voice reverberated from his chest, to his throat and into the air— his mixed feelings resounding from deep within his heart, turning into words from his mouth and spilling out in the open.

He held on for as long as he could until it was physically painful to keep doing so.

So he let it go.

When he was done, he silently wiped away the tears streaming down his cheeks and slowly opened his eyes.

Out of the corner of his sight, he spotted Pearl. She was just peeking out from the corner of the car wash building, and seemed to be waffling over whether or not she should head towards the van. When she noticed him watching her, she tensed up.

Greg tried to give her a reassuring smile, but his cheeks felt too stiff. Instead, he gave her a little wave, not quite beckoning for her to come closer but still hoping she would.

"Hey, Pearl," Greg greeted as Pearl approached him.

"Gregory." She bowed low from the waist, her head almost touching the ground as her arms swept outward to the sides.

Startled, Greg almost stepped on his ukulele in his rush over to her. "No, Pearl, you don't have to—" he cried. Just a few days ago, Pearl's courtly bows had seemed so innocent, so normal. Just another social quirk of an alien. But now, knowing what he did, he finally saw the gesture for what it really was— she was prostrating herself before him. "Please stand up, Pearl. _Please..._ "

She straightened up, but her head remained lowered. "But I must apologize for yesterday."

"W-what?" Greg asked. "Why? What are _you_ even apologizing for?"

"Because I have upset Steven," she said. "And I have made you angry."

"I wasn't angry." The words came out louder than he meant, and he struggled to keep his voice under control. "I-I mean— kay, I was, but I wasn't angry _at_ you. I was just—" Breathe in, breathe out. Just like they'd taught Steven. " _I'm_ the one who should be apologizing to _you_ , Pearl. All this time, I had no idea you were— That your relationship with Blue was— I was angry at _myself_ for not realizing."

Pearl stood there, face unreadable under her hair, leaving Greg flustered and floundering.

"A-Anyway, things don't have to stay that way with me and Steven. If there's anything you want to have or do— _anything_ at all— we'll do everything in our power to give it to you. As our way to make it up to you."

"...Make it up to me?" That got Pearl to finally raise her head, her expression flummoxed.

"Yeah. Like reparations or back pay or..." Greg recalled one of Steven's suggestions from the previous night, and latched onto it. "I dunno, do you want your own apartment? I know it's not enough to make up for all the years you've been with us, but if you want, I'm sure we can work something out..."

"I do not understand what you are asking of me, Greg. I do not require payment for merely performing my duties."

"Yeah, about that... you don't really need to do any duties or chores or whatever. Uhh, if you don't want to, I mean. Just, umm..."

"Oh." Pearl's voice was even quieter than usual. "I see… I should not have come back."

She turned to leave, and panic rose up within him.

"No!" he cried, flailing out on instinct, grabbing her by the shoulder before she could run off again. She froze under the touch, and Greg flinched, quickly pulling back his hand. "Sorry, I didn't mean— I don't— I'm _not_ kicking you out or anything." Out of his throat came a strangled noise which could have been a laugh. "It's fine, if... if you wanna leave. What I'm saying is… Just do what you feel like doing, I guess?"

"I... will try."

It was hardly the most reassuring thing she could have said.

But what could he expect? He didn't know how old Pearl was, but if Blue was any indication, she could be thousands of years old as well. This had to be so… sudden for her. Change wouldn't happen overnight.

"I guess that's a start." He sighed, realizing it would take more than that. He couldn't just… _tell_ Pearl to do what she wanted. That would make it too easy for all of them to fall back into old habits. "And I'll be sure to try harder to check in on what you want to do or how you feel about stuff. Okay?"

"I understand." Pearl nodded, before turning her head towards the van. "Is Steven still asleep?"

Greg startled a little, suddenly noticing how bright it was. Dawn had snuck up on him. "Yeah, still tuckered out last I checked."

Pearl nodded again, but said nothing else.

They stood there in awkward silence, looking everywhere but each other's eyes. Greg noticed his ukulele was still on the ground after he'd haphazardly dropped it in his rush earlier. He slowly picked it up as he cast around for some topic of conversation to cut through the stiffness.

"So, uh, I've been thinking… If you really don't want to live in your own place..." He glanced at Pearl, who gave the slightest of nods. "Well, since the situation has changed with the Crystal Gems, maybe it's about time that we all live together again? I haven't brought it up with Steven yet, but I was thinking that moving as soon as possible would be for the best. What do you think?"

"He would greatly appreciate being around you more often."

"Yeah, but what do _you_ think about it?"

"I... I think it will be a good thing." Pearl opened her mouth as if to say something more, but simply closed it again. Greg said nothing, waiting for her to collect her thoughts and voice them. Finally she continued, "Should I accompany him in gathering his belongings?"

"Do you _want_ to accompany him?"

"I..." She clasped her hands to her breast, which was a usual gesture for her. What wasn't usual, however, was the slight way she wrung them. "Yes, I do."

"Then you probably should."

Another silence settled over, this one more comfortable somehow. It gave Greg a moment to appreciate the morning light, painting the ocean in pinks and yellows.

"Thank you for telling me your thoughts, Pearl." He gave her a smile, small but genuine. That was when he noticed the way Pearl had been holding herself. Her posture was perfect as always, but the way she relaxed when he smiled... It reminded him of some nature documentaries he'd watched, how gazelle relaxed once they knew the lions were gone.

"...You are welcome, Gregory," said Pearl, and now that Greg was paying closer attention to her subtler cues, she seemed to sound so... relieved.

He hated to take that relief away from her, but...

"There's one thing I need to know right now though, before anything else... If you're okay with answering, that is. But I... I really need to know, and I need your honest answer. Is that okay?"

"Of course. What would you like to know?"

"...Did Blue ever hurt you?"

"No, of course not. My Diamond was very kind," she answered without any hesitation, and Greg felt momentarily relieved. "And in turn, I did my best to be the Pearl she deserved. I had rarely given her a reason to chasten me. But even when I had and she had to take action, it was only because I deserved to be disciplined for my mistakes."

And just like that, any inkling of relief Greg had felt was replaced with renewed horror. Pearl had always been very deliberate with her choice of words, always a shade too specific than what any other person would use in a casual conversation. And what she had just said was setting off alarm bells in his head.

 _Oh gods... And what about me, did I hurt her without realizing? Did Steven?_

But before he could ask, before he could even get a hold of his mouth enough to start shaping the words, the van's door swung open. Steven stepping out, rubbing his eyes.

"Dad, where did you put the... eggs..." he trailed off, taking in the scene before him. "...Pearl."

"My Steven," said Pearl.

Steven frowned. "Did I interrupt something? 'Cause I can just go back to making breakfast..."

"No."

Greg cast a quick glance between his son and Pearl, who subtly started to tense up again. He stepped forward, giving her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. "I was just talking to Pearl about you two moving here with me."

Steven blinked. "Here in Beach City?"

"Well…" Greg started. "At least for a while. I mean, the three of us can't really live in the van forever." He laughed, but it sounded stiff and forced, even to him. "Maybe until things settle down a bit…"

"And then we can go home?" Steven asked. "Back to the apartment?"

"Yeah, bud. But until then, we can just move some stuff from the Palanquin to the van."

Steven stared at them, still frowning, and Greg could practically see the gears turning in his head. Then he relaxed, a bright smile spreading across his face. "Okay. That'll be great, Dad! When are we doing this?"

"Uhh, today? If you're cool with it."

"It's totally cool! ...I mean, I'm totally cool with it, but I don't know if... I can move the Palanquin just yet."

Greg scratched the back of his neck. "That's... not exactly what I meant."

"Oh. I just thought, when you said moving here... you meant _moving_ here."

"Nah. No pressure on getting that old thing to move, son." He knew the many attempts Steven had made at activating whatever psychic connection Blue had had with her Palanquin, and he knew the frustrations those failures had given him. "I just meant that... After everything that's happened lately, I'm not really comfortable with you and Pearl being out there on your own." Steven glanced down at the ground. Greg pushed on, determined to keep the tone light. "Maybe for now, you and Pearl could grab some essentials from the Palanquin, I'll move some stuff around in the van, and then we'll discuss about a bigger move later on. Sound good?"

"Yeah..." He turned to go back inside, then paused. "Does Pearl have to come with me? I mean, I can warp on my own and I know the way."

Out of the corner of his eye, Greg saw Pearl's already rigid posture stiffen even more. Her shoulders pushed back and the corners of her mouth twitched.

"Steven, after being captured and everything, I'd really appreciate if you had someone looking after you."

His son looked at Pearl, then back at Greg. "But Dad, the Crystal Gems aren't going to attack me again—"

" _Please_ , Steven."

For a moment, Steven looked like he was going to argue some more, but something in Greg's tone stopped him. He glanced at Pearl again before nodding mulishly and going back into the van to grab his backpack.

Breakfast was forgotten about, which was fine by Greg. He wasn't hungry anyway.

* * *

Steven hurried around the Palanquin, placing another armful of clothing into the one of the cardboard boxes, regarding it for a moment, before deciding that he could probably fit a bit more into it. He walked back to his dresser and opened another drawer, considering what he should bring back to Beach City. He couldn't bring all of it, so he would need to chose carefully. And besides, he wouldn't be staying forever, so he didn't _need_ to bring every single one—

He looked up from the drawer of clothes at the sound of soft, padding footsteps. He looked over to the table where the box was and saw Pearl placing something within.

"No, It's okay, Pearl," Steven said. "I can handle it."

For a moment it looked like Pearl was going to protest, but instead she merely nodded and stepped aside, hands folded over her gem. "Of course, my Steven."

Her _title_ for him pricked at his heart, but he said nothing. Not for a lack of wanting to, but more for not knowing where to even begin. This morning, when Pearl had returned to the RV, he hadn't even managed to organize his thoughts into a coherent _idea_ , let alone anything like bullet points to discuss.

How do you even discuss something like that anyway? That you had a _slave_ your entire life and didn't even realize it?

Steven pursed his lips as he returned to the dresser. After a few moments of consideration, he picked out a few shirts, another two pairs of pants, and several pairs of underwear. He returned to the cardboard box and placed them inside before closing the lid.

"Okay," Steven said as he moved the now full box to the floor, replacing it with a new empty box. He moved towards the 'kitchen' area of the Palanquin. "Let me just grab what food we want to keep. We can donate the rest to that shelter in town. Then we can head back to the RV."

Pearl titled her head at him. "Perhaps I can begin taking boxes over to the warp pad in preparation of our—"

"No! You- I mean, you can just…hang out while I do this," Steven quickly said. "It's alright. I'm almost done."

He turned, not waiting for her response, and walked over to the small cupboard that stood next to the washing basin and the Palanquin's throne. There wasn't much inside— just some cereal, several packages of instant noodles, and various sweet cakes that Steven really liked. He tightened the corners of his mouth. They should probably just take all of this. After all, it was nonperishable, so they don't really have to worry about it going bad soon or anything like that.

Steven nodded to himself and had just laid his hand on the box of cereal, when he heard another sound behind him. For a split second, he thought it was Pearl again, trying to help. But another second passed and he realized that the sharp, jagged sound he was hearing wasn't footsteps.

It was crying.

He turned back around and saw that Pearl had left her place next to the table and had moved over to the study area. Kneeling on one of the pillows and had…something, maybe a book, in her hand.

But what still kept drawing him was the sound of her crying.

 _Did_ Pearl cry? Steven couldn't remember any other time he had ever heard her crying before. Sometimes he'd seen her, when he'd gotten over emotional and overwhelmed her, but those tears had always been small and silent.

Hearing her sobs and seeing her shoulders quake with each gasp was…strange. And unnerving.

Bracing himself, Steven hurried over to her and saw over her shoulder that she did indeed have a book in her hand. A story book to be exact; "Isabella and the Tower of Zenith". It had been one of his favorite stories when he was younger. Why was she crying over it?

"Pearl?" Steven asked cautiously. "Is... Is everything okay?"

Pearl let out a ragged sob before looking up. But she didn't turn to look at him.

"My Steven," she said in a breathy whisper. "Please. If I can no longer be of service, simply tell me. And I will go and no longer bother you or Greg."

Steven's mouth suddenly felt very dry and he could feel his heart began to race in his chest. "Is that what you want? To leave?"

She turned where she knelt and faced him. Her face was tear-stricken and her hair disheveled, revealing hints of her bright eyes. "I _only_ want to make you happy," she said earnestly. "That is my purpose."

"What I want doesn't matter!" Steven shot back. "You shouldn't be doing things just because I want you to."

"But I must," Pearl replied, the book dropping from her hand. "I am a Pearl. This is my duty, my only purpose."

"No! You're a person!" Steven cried. "You should do what you _want_ to do! Even if— Even if that means leaving..."

Silence crept over them. Pearl bowed her head and Steven could hear the soft sound of tears falling to the ground.

"My Steven," Pearl began softly. "Is that what you wish? For me to leave?"

"Pearl..."

"If that is what you want then simply tell me." She looked back at him, her cheeks glistening with freshly shed tears. "I do not wish to cause you, or Greg, any unease or discomfort."

Steven could feel his lips begin to tremble and his eyes flutter at the threat of tears. Because he knew what his answer to that question was. And he knew, just _knew_ he was going to be selfish, but—

"Of course I don't want you to leave, Pearl," he said, his voice trembling at the effort of the words. "You're my Guardian. I don't want you to go anywhere."

"Then allow me to serve you as I have," Pearl said grabbing Steven's hand. "Allow me to be your Pearl, my Steve—"

"Stop calling me that!" Steven yelled, yanking his arm free from Pearl's grasp. "Stop calling me that! I'm not my mom!"

Pearl seemed to recoil from him, as Steven felt the familiar tingling that started in his chest and began spread throughout his body. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, taking deep, practiced breaths and mentally counting off in his head.

 _10_

 _9_

 _8_

 _7_

 _Breathe in..._

 _6_

 _5_

 _4_

 _3_

 _Breathe out..._

 _2_

 _1_

He opened his eyes again and Pearl was still sitting there, still looking at him with her barely hidden eyes. He opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to speak, before finally words did emerge from his mouth.

"I'm not Blue Diamond." His voice was quiet and shaky. "I don't... I don't _want_ a slave. And I don't want you to _be_ a slave, Pearl."

"I am not a slave," Pearl responded. "I am a _Pearl_. I was created to serve."

"And that's not right!" Steven cried back, his vision starting to blur with tears. "You're _Pearl,_ not _a_ Pearl."

"There is no difference, my Steven." She either didn't notice or ignored Steven wincing at her words. She instead gestured around them. "The Palanquin was created as a Palanquin. That is what it is, what its purpose is. It would be foolish to try and make it anything else."

"The Palanquin is a thing," Steven said. "You're a _person_."

"I am a Pearl."

Steven exhaled sharply, letting his shoulders slump and his gaze to fall to the floor. He clamped his mouth shut, biting as hard as he could manage to try and stem the sobs that pushed to get out. It was not made any easier when her felt Pearl's arms wrap around him and pull him close.

"Oh, my Steven. You needn't worry," Pearl whispered easily into his ear. "This is my fault, for keeping all this from you until now. I should have told you this sooner."

"No, Pearl," Steven said, doing his best to keep his voice calm and even. He pulled away from her, and settled a steady gaze on her. "This... This isn't how it's going to be. You're not a thing. You're Pearl; you are your own person."

"My Stev—"

"No, stop calling me that," Steven interrupted. "I'm... I'm just Steven."

Pearl said nothing in return, only continuing to regard him in silence.

"I don't want you to- to serve me," Steven went on. "I just... I just want our family back. With you in it, Pearl."

For a moment, it looked as if Pearl was going to speak, but instead, her gaze fell and she turned away.

"No," she said softly. "I never should have— Gems don't have family. I am a Pearl and I know my place." She paused a moment. "I am _merely_ a Pearl. A delicate, fragile thing that doesn't deserve to be regarded as... as family." Her voice cracked and Steven felt his own throat tighten as the tears threatened to resume.

"That's not true," he said.

"It is!" Pearl's voice cut like a knife. "I am worthless... a Pearl who has failed in her duties..." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I am not the Renegade. I am... merely a Pearl..."

Steven sniffled and wiped his nose. "Well..." He scooted closer to her, before wrapping his arms around her in a snug hug. " _I_ think you're pretty great."

Pearl was stiff in his embrace before relaxing, her body shaking with sobs.

"I love you, Pearl," Steven choked out before his own sobs made it impossible for him to speak anymore.

"Yes..." Pearl's voice was nearly unintelligible through her own crying. "I- I love you too...

"Steven..."

* * *

They both now sat across from each other on pillows in the corner, both still reeling from the onslaught of emotions that had overtaken them. They looked at each other in silence for a long time, neither saying anything, until Pearl finally spoke.

"You do not wish for me to call you 'my Steven'?"

Steven shook his head. "That's what you called mom. And... you were her slave. I'm not my mom. And you're not my slave."

Pearl was silent for a moment, before saying, "I'll admit. At first, that is why I referred to you as that. You were... I believed you were my Diamond. But... you are not."

"Then why did you keep using it?"

"Because... you are _my_ Steven." She folded her hands in lap and considered them. "Watching you grow, taking care of you over the years..." She smiled softly. "Waking you up in the morning and making you breakfast as you ran around the apartment, taking you to the park, reading you stories..." She looked up at him, smile still in place. "As hard as it may be for the Crystal Gems to believe, I _do_ enjoy my life with you and Greg, and now Lapis. It is... immeasurably better than the life I had on Homeworld."

Steven nodded slowly. "Okay. I... get that. But... Mom's not here. And this isn't Homeworld. And... it feels uncomfortable now. To me, and definitely to the Crystal Gems."

"I see..." Pearl said. "But I cannot refer to you simply as 'Steven'."

"Why not?"

She held her own hands. She didn't know how to put these things into words. She took a long time to even attempt to phrase it correctly. "It is too plain. I wish to convey how important you are to me."

"Oh," said Steven, his cheeks turning pink.

There was a moment of silence, and then Pearl said, "I suppose there are other terms of endearment I could use. Like… honey, I think?"

"You could," Steven said, slowly. Dad used stuff like that all the time, after all. It just sounded… weird, coming from Pearl's mouth.

Pearl was quiet for a moment before saying, "Well, I will try different ones out. Perhaps I can find a few that feel… right."

Steven smiled. "Okay.. It'll be a start... A start of whole new part of our lives."

"Perhaps," Pearl smiled back at him. "Though, I believe we may have already started that on that evening at the Fountain."

"Yeah," Steven chuckled.

"Still though..." Pearl raised her hand, letting it hover over her gem, before her gem began to glow. Something was clasped in her hand and she raised it to her face, pulling aside her bangs and revealing the bright yellow star hairclip stuck in her hair. "How do I look?"

Her eyes blinked out at him, large, blue, and hopeful.

"Like a whole new part of our lives."

Pearl's smile widened. "Then it is fitting." She rose from her seat, Steven doing the same. "Come. No doubt the others are wondering what is taking us so long."

She walked over to the table, Steven following after her, and with just a moment's pause, bent over and picked up one of the tightly packed boxes. Steven quickly picked up the other.

"Come, dear," she said gently. "Let us return to Beach City. No doubt Greg will wish to know... what we have talked about."

* * *

After being alone in the van for nearly two hours, Greg couldn't stop the worry stewing in his stomach. The relief when Steven and Pearl arrived was palpable. Their eyes were red, but there was a comfortable air around them. Conversation flowed relatively lightly while they helped get Steven properly settled in.

Even that didn't take long. And once they were finished, Greg encouraged Steven to go explore the town.

"Will you guys come with me?'

Greg gave the briefest of glances towards Pearl, then said, "You don't want us old farts trailing you all day, do ya? Go on, see the sights, meet the folks. They're nice."

He'd hesitated a little, but Greg had slipped him a ten dollar bill, and off he'd went.

After that, he'd gently encouraged Pearl to go have some free time of her own. It had only taken a little reassurance on his part that no, really, the van was perfectly neat… and also, Lapis was looking a little lonely out there.

And he was left, alone, in his van.

Greg sat by the kitchen table, feeling kinda at a loss.

Finally, he fished out his phone, scrolled down to near the bottom of his contact list. There was a ringing; one, two three…

"Yo, what up?" came a voice.

"Hey Vi," said Greg. "Are we having cards night this week?"

* * *

After nearly three years working at the Big Donut, Sadie had learned to latch onto anything that spiced up the monotony of a normal day. Which including the stunning excitement of having a brand new customer.

Specifically, Steven Universe.

Sadie remain professional, greeting him with the official, "Welcome to the Big Donut, can I take your order?"

The boy smiled shyly up at her, while he took the time to go over the menu. Sadie chatted with him a bit, directing him to some stuff he might like. When he finally chose a hot chocolate and jelly-filled donut, she helped him sort through his money.

"It's confusing that the bills are all green," he mumbled. Apparently he was visiting from Korea, where they all came in different colors.

"So, like _monopoly money_?" Lars muttered.

"Pardon?" said Steven.

Lars blanched and said, "Nothing!"

Sadie looked at him sidelong. It was the _only_ thing he'd said since the boy had entered the shop. That wasn't weird in of itself— Lars usually tended to wear earphones and ignore all customers— but there was something different this time. He was obviously very much aware of Steven, watching him closely… but doing his best to make it seem like he wasn't.

She caught his eye, raising an eyebrow, and he pretended to ignore her too.

Sadie heaved out sigh. Whatever. It wouldn't be the first time that Lars had utterly baffled her.

Steven took his food and sat at a seat near the window. Sadie considered talking a bit more with him. He seemed kinda lonely. _And_ she knew her Mom was desperate for more info, but then he pulled out a sketch pad, and she decided to leave him to it. Besides, she needed to restock the display anyway.

(Lars didn't help. He was busy reading something on his phone.)

Sadie lost herself like that for a while, and when the door chimed in the background, she assumed it was just Steven heading off. It was only when she heard the voices that her heart sank.

"So, like, what exactly do we wanna get then?" said the voice of Jenny Pizza.

"Anything. Or everything," said Buck Dewey.

"Everything sounds good to me," said Ronaldo Fryman.

Quickly, Sadie shoved the last of the ice cream sandwiches into the freezer, and spun around.

It wasn't that she disliked the so-called 'Cool Kids'. She barely knew anything about them, besides the fact they were still in high school, they were supposed really cool, and Lars— well—

"Welcome to the Big Donut," he said in monotone, crossing his arms, "what can I get you?"

"I don't know," said Ronaldo, and as always, there was something about his tone that Sadie could not place. "What would you suggest?"

Lars very pointedly looked away from Ronaldo to the other two teens. "I mean, most of it kinda sucks…"

Sadie rolled her eyes.

"That blows, man," said Buck. "I don't want sucky food."

"My jelly donut was pretty good," came a quiet voice from near the window. The Cool Kids turned to Steven.

Jenny snapped and pointed at him. "Hey! You're new in town, right? Mr. Universe's kid?"

The boy's bluish face took on a purple blush. "Is that how… everyone knows me?"

"Pretty much." Buck shoved his hands into his pockets. "But don't worry. I'm sure you'll be able to forge an identity independent of your father."

"Uh… thanks…"

Sadie let out a small sigh of relief as she hurried to her position behind the cash register. She was glad that something had distracted from the weird tension— or mostly had. Lars was grinding his teeth together, and his knuckles were white.

"So the jelly donuts're good?" asked Ronaldo. Mutely, Steven nodded. "Sweet. How's a half-dozen of those sound, guys?"

"Sounds good, Ron," said Jenny. Buck gave a thumbs up.

"Got it!" said Sadie quickly, already loading up a cardboard box.

As the Cool Kids rummaged around for payment, Ronaldo wandered over to Steven's table. Sadie overheard him say, "Cool drawing, man. Is that some sort of chicken-person?"

"Yeah…"

"Did you see one for real?"

"Uh— yeah, I did, but—"

"Oh. Em. Gee. That is _awesome_. You have definitely gotta tell us more about it sometime." Sadie hurried to shut the box. "We catalogue all the strange and supernatural phenomenon around Beach City. We run a blog all about it, _Beach City Explorers_! We're always looking for new tips!"

" _He_ runs it really," said Jenny. "I mostly just take pictures and stuff." She waved her phone in demonstration.

"And _I_ help with merch. Here. Have a button." Buck tossed one to Steven, which he just barely caught.

Steven turned it over in his hands, then pinned it on his hoodie. "Hey, wow, cool. Thanks!"

"No problemo," said Buck.

Sadie quickly grabbed the payment from Jenny, pushing the change and donuts towards her. "Thank you for coming to the Big Donut!"

"Seriously," Ronaldo was saying to Steven, "Get in touch!"

"Yeah. We can show you the sights," said Jenny.

"Oh, okay. Thanks!" said Steven, waving back at the teenagers as they departed. The bell rang as they left, leaving a hollow silence in their wake.

Sadie snuck a glance at Lars. He looked, predictably, furious.

"We can show you around too y'know!" Lars blurted out.

Steven blinked at him. "Huh?"

"We can show you around town! Show you everything you need to know!"

"Oh. Well, thanks. What um… what kinda stuff is there?"

"Uh…." Lars stammered.

Sadie stepped in to save him. "Well, there's the arcade and Funland, if you have some extra quarters to spare…"

"Yeah. I've beaten all the games in there," said Lars, "I could definitely help you out. And there's other stuff, too. Wrestling on Saturday nights… The cinema… The park… uh, the library?"

"The library," said Sadie flatly.

"Yes, the library!"

"When have _you_ ever read books?"

"All the time!"

"I've _never_ seen you."

Lars crossed his arms. "Well, there's a lot you don't know about me!"

"A library sounds cool!" said Steven. "I've been wanting to try some new books. How do you get there?"

"Well, it's on… hmm, Budwick Road, isn't it? There's a bus that stops right by it, I think…" said Sadie, scratching her head.

"I can take you!" Lars announced.

Steven smiled. "Wow, really? Thanks!"

"Lars," said Sadie. "We're _working!_ "

He waved a hand. "Oh, come on. Our shift ends in like, half an hour."

 _Forty six minutes_ , Sadie thought, but didn't say aloud.

"Um— it's okay— you can always show me some oth—"

"Come on," Lars urged. "Help a guy out, _player two_."

He gave her the biggest, sweetest eyes, and Sadie felt something inside her melt. And he had a point. It wasn't like she couldn't handle the end of her shift alone, and if he stayed, he'd probably just mooch around anyway. This wouldn't be goofing off— he'd helping a little kid, making sure he didn't get lost, taking him to somewhere educational like a library—

"Oh, okay," Sadie relented. "You two go have fun."

* * *

Lars had nearly made it to the bus stop, when a sudden realization struck him:

He didn't know which bus actually went to the library.

He'd used to know. When he'd been a kid, he'd spent a lot of rainy afternoons there, hiding among the tall shelves, breathing in the warm, musty smells. But he'd stopped going there years ago, and the recited bus number had faded from his brain.

Panic flashed through him. What was he supposed to do?! He could Gaggle it, but his phone was so slow, and anyway, he'd told Steven he knew how to get there— he'd look like a total idiot if he had to search it up. Maybe he could just… guess? He could probably remember. But what if they grabbed the wrong bus? He'd look like an even _bigger_ idiot then—

Lars looked up, and was met with a giant mouth filled with sharp, white teeth.

He screamed.

"Woah, woah, it's okay," Steven said, grabbing his arm before he could bolt away down the boardwalk. "This is just Bacon."

Lars stared at the giant wall of pink fur, giant claws and terrible teeth, standing less than a foot away. " _Bacon_?! That thing's a _monster_!"

"No. He's a lion," Steven said, and to Lars' horror, he wrapped an arm around the creature's neck.

The creature gave him a long, slow blink, and nuzzled the boy back.

"Is he like— s-some kind of pet or something?"

"No, not a pet. Just a friend. He's in pride with Rose Quartz— she lives on the beach—"

"Rose?" said Lars, calming down a little. Just a little.

"You know her?" asked Steven.

"Uh… sort of…"

Caught up in thought, Lars didn't immediately notice the weird meowing-like exchange the boy and the lion shared. What he did notice was when Steven started climbing up onto the lion's back.

"What are you doing?!"

"Bacon says he can take us to the library." Steven smiled, gave a wave, and said, "Come on up."

Lars stared.

He was being asked. To get on the back. Of a magical pink lion.

 _No freakin' way_.

But if he didn't, he'd look like a huge coward.

Sweat dripping down his neck, Lars awkwardly hauled himself onto the creature's back. Its fur was thick, its body hot, moving beneath him with every breath in and out, and when the lion looked back at them, it was all Lars could do not to grab onto Steven waist and scream.

That's when the lion started running.

Running, Lars could handle. Running was fine. He could just grab onto to the fur and wait until the animal got tired, because it wasn't like the thing could actually bring them to the library right, it was just—

And then Bacon roared.

A giant portal of glimmering lights manifested in the air in front of them. The lion dove in, and everywhere was blues and yellows and pinks, dazzling, dizzying, sparkling everywhere. Bile crept up Lars' throat and held on for dear life.

 _I should've stayed at work I should've stayed at work I should've stayed at work I should've—_

Just like that, it was over. Lars half-scrambled, half-fell off the lion's back, and he had never been so glad to have nice, solid asphalt beneath him.

As Lars managed to get back onto wobbly feet, Steven just chattered on, in a combination of English and cat-noises. "Oh gosh, that was the coolest thing ever wasn't it? _Meow-meow, hiss_ , Bacon says he can bring us back later, _mreow_ , he's just gonna go catch some lizards, so—"

"No, no, it's okay! We can— we can just take the bus back. Tell— tell 'Bacon' to take his time with the lizards or whatever—"

And if Lars still had any suspicions that this kid wasn't just making the whole 'I can talk to this pink lion' stuff up, the fact that he patiently translated this back into meows, and then the cat just bounded away, basically confirmed it.

Even once they'd made it into the relative safety of the library, Lars had trouble focusing. He kept thinking about what an idiot he'd been, jumping on the back of carnivorous beast because a strange twelve-year-old told him to, even if the said twelve-year-old was some super-cool kid of a rockstar. He tried to focus on books, but he didn't have much interest in them, and whenever he noticed something that did look interesting (the baking section caught his eye), he told himself he could just look anything he wanted up online. There were racks filled with DVDs and videogames— _Since when do libraries have video-games?—_ and those looked cool, but Lars didn't even have a valid library card, and he felt weird going to sign up for one. Instead he ended up just covertly checking the right bus to get home on his phone.

After about forty minutes, Steven ended up carrying an entire stack of books to the check-out. Lars stared at it all dubiously. Judging by the covers, they were a bunch of cheesy looking kids' books.

"You read those?" Lars asked, barely able to keep the sneer out of his voice.

Some of it must have slipped through, though, because Steven ducked his head a little. "Not yet. But a— a girl I met said they're really good, so I wanna try them."

"Oh," said Lars, and nothing else, even though he still thought they looked kinda stupid.

The librarian behind the desk lit up when she saw them, however. "Oh, goodness, _The Unfamiliar Familiar_! These are wonderful. I'm sure you'll love them!" She helped Steven through the process of making a library card (Lars could have gotten one too, it would've been so easy, but— But what, he wasn't sure, he just didn't want to.) Once she'd finished she said, "By the way, we have a contest running you might be interested in."

"What kind of contest?"

"An art competition!" she chirped.

"What?" said Steven. "So cool!"

"Yes. All participants will get their art displayed here in the library, and the prize is a full hard-cover set of the _Spirit Morph Saga_. Would you like to sign up?"

The kid's eyes were practically sparkling with diamonds when he said, ' _Would I_?"

"Me too!" Lars quickly added.

"Woah, Lars? You're an artist?"

"Uh…. Yeah. I sure am!"

"Awesome! We get to sign up together! This is gonna be fun!"

That was how Lars Barriga ended up signing his name on the entrance list next to Steven Diamond Universe's, despite not having the slightest clue how to draw, paint or do anything remotely artistic.

He wished the lion would come back to eat him, after all.

oOoOo

 **Authors' Note:** And we're back!

*glances at calander*

Hmm, it's Octoberween. Which means we have a question for y'all... Werewolves or vampires?


	24. Learning

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Learning**

"And you've confirmed the location?" Rose tightened the belt that held her scabbard at her side. She looked over at Garnet, who curtly nodded at her. "But you don't know what it is exactly?"

"No," Garnet answered. "Though it looked as if it was a secure facility."

"So it's most likely dangerous."

"Most likely," Garnet said. "But I didn't See any corrupted Gems."

"That's good. Then as soon as Amethyst gets back—"

"Yo! I got 'im!"

Rose looked over her shoulder and saw Amethyst enter the Temple's entrance hall. Steven was there as requested, trailing just behind. Accompanying him was Blue Pearl, and not- Rose noted with an odd sense of relief and regret- Mr. Universe.

As she turned to greet them, Rose noticed that Blue Pearl's appearance seemed to have changed, although not in the way that suggested a regeneration. She was wearing a bracelet- the same one Rose had returned to her a few weeks prior- as well as a star hairclip that kept her thick bangs out of her eyes.

Rose couldn't help but smile: Garnet had been right after all. The new look suited Blue Pearl, although Rose knew better than to draw attention to that fact. In her experience, Pearls could be funny about other Gems complementing their appearance; and the truce between them all was fragile enough as it was.

"Steven. Pearl. Thank you both for coming," Rose greeted lightly.

"I tried to get him by himself," Amethyst shrugged. "But Pearl— that Pearl— insisted on coming too."

"That's okay," Rose said. "She is welcome here, as is Steven. We have nothing to hide."

"So… why did you want us to come?" Steven asked.

Rose glanced over at Garnet, who took her cue. "A Gem artifact has become active."

"An artifact?" Blue Pearl spoke up. "What kind?"

"We don't know," Garnet responded. "All we know is its location."

"How did it become active?" Steven asked. "Do Gem things just... do that?"

"They can," Garnet said. "The most powerful artifacts of Homeworld tended to put function over stability."

"They can be unpredictable," Rose clarified. "And not always built to last.

Steven turned and looked up at Blue Pearl for confirmation. "That is true, Steven," she said. "Especially during the war, results were valued much more than sustainability."

"Okay," Steven said slowly as he looked back at Rose. "Why are you telling us this?"

There was a moment's pause, before Rose answered, "We want you to come on our mission with us."

Steven's eyes grew wide with surprise. "Me? Why?"

Again, Rose glanced over at Garnet.

"You possess a Sight," Garnet said. "A very rare gift."

"You mean my past vision," Steven said, just a hair tensely. He was uneasy being here, in the Temple with all of them around, wasn't he? Rose could hardly blame him, though. After all, he spent so long— _too_ long, really— imprisoned here. Having had spent time in prison cells, for one reason or another, Rose wouldn't be eager to come back if it were her.

"Yes," Garnet said. "It is a powerful ability, more precise than trying to parse out a possibility amongst a sea of chances."

"And from what Garnet has told me," Rose said, "these visions tend to engulf you."

Steven shifted where he stood, but before he could say anything, Amethyst spoke up, "Yeah. He almost walked off the Sky Arena." She grinned self-assuredly. "Good thing I was there."

Steven gave an uneasy, lopsided smile. "Yeah, good thing. I can, uh… sort of forget where I really am during them, sometimes."

"That is why you need training," Rose said, smiling over at Garnet.

"Training I can help you with," Garnet said. "Your Sight is a tool, and you need to be able to use it properly."

A moment of silence passed, before Blue Pearl asked softly, "And why do you want him trained?"

"For his own safety," Garnet answered without missing a beat.

"I see," Blue Pearl responded. "And if that is your reason, then I thank you." She tipped her head just slightly at them. "But you will not train him simply so he can become _your_ tool."

A knot of uncertainty tightened in Rose's chest. "That is not our intention," she said. "Please. We only want to help As a sign of good faith."

"Steven has had no trouble with his visions," Blue Pearl responded, though with the quickly-masked look of surprise Steven gave her, Rose suspected even she knew this was false.

" _Maybe_ we should ask Steven what _he_ thinks," Amethyst said in a faux whisper.

Steven bit his lip as he looked between Blue Pearl and the Crystal Gems.

"What would I have to do?" he asked.

"Come with us on the mission," Rose explained. "Once there, you can practice your past vision in a safe, contained environment."

"What's so special about… wherever this mission is taking place? Can't we just practice here?"

It had been an option, initially. But, again, their truce was a fragile one, and Pearl had argued that allowing Steven to see into the past of the Crystal Gems more than was absolutely necessary could give him too many insights if they ever did find themselves on opposing sides again. And Rose hadn't been able to mount a convincing argument against her, not with the ignored warnings about Mr. Universe hanging between them. Apology or not, Pearl still seemed on edge about the whole thing - but Pearl had always been overly protective of her, and Rose knew it would fade with time.

"It was a research and development lab," she said, ignoring his second question. "Experimenting with more efficient forms of energy. Just Gems standing over research terminals and cobbling together prototype machinery."

"No surprises," Garnet added. "Very calm, very quiet. Compared to what you've Seen in the past."

"And that's all I'd have to do?" Steven asked. "Practice my visions?"

"You don't _have_ to do anything," Rose said, taking care to smile down at him. "But, honestly, we expect it to be a very routine shouldn't be anything else for you to do."

" _Shouldn't_ be," Blue Pearl intoned.

"I've used my Future Vision extensively," Garnet said. "And Pearl— our Pearl- is already on the site scouting. If there's anything dangerous, she'll find it."

The corners of Blue Pearl's lips tightened, but she said nothing. But Steven, on the other hand…

"What were they working on at the lab?" he asked, eyes gleaming with wonder. "Is any of their research left? Are you going to try and retrieve it?"

"We don't know what the artifact exactly is," Rose said. "All we know is that's it's potentially dangerous if left alone."

Steven was quiet as he contemplated what they had said. After a while, he glanced up at Blue Pearl before turning back to Rose, saying. "Okay. I'll go."

"Steven," Blue Pearl said, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I am not sure if this is a good idea."

"Why not?" Steven asked. "It's just like when you and I explore Gem ruins."

"Yes, dear. But…" She trailed off as she looked over at Garnet, then at Amethyst, and finally at Rose, who felt quite pleased by her success in keeping her surprise from showing. 'Dear'? That was new. What wasn't new was Blue Pearl's expression, a subtler version of one she'd seen on Pearl's face quite regularly when discussing Steven and his little court: suspicion..

"Pearl," Rose said in her most diplomatic voice. "For whatever it is worth, I offer my deepest assurance that we shall allow no harm to come to Steven while he is in our care."

Blue Pearl said nothing in response, only keeping her eyes trained on Steven.

"Pearl," Steven said. "This… this could be important. If I can get better control over my visions then… maybe I can walk around the-" He stopped, as if catching himself before saying something he shouldn't. "So I can walk around the mountainside without… any problems."

 _Is he talking about the Sky Arena? Or…_

Rose felt her posture stiffen as she did her best to act like she didn't know what Steven was referring to. But even Garnet seemed to tense up after Steven spoke.

"Yes, Steven. But… Very well," Blue Pearl said.

"So can I go?" Steven asked, his face brightening.

" _We_ will go, yes," Blue Pearl said. "I will accompany you."

Rose nodded, before smiling at the two "Of course you are welcome to come, Pearl. As I said, we have nothing to hide. Assuming Steven is okay with you coming, of course."

"Well, if you want to come, then I don't mind, Pearl," Steven smiled up at her. She smiled back at him.

Rose stepped forward. "Okay. If we're all ready…?"

Garnet nodded silently as she began walking towards the warp pad. Amethyst gave a fleeting look at Steven and Blue Pearl before following after Garnet.

"Do you need a moment to gather anything?" Rose asked.

"Do I _need_ to bring anything?" Steven said.

"We could return to the RV and pack some things," Blue Pearl suggested. "I could retrieve some items from the medicine chest. And I think we may still have that defibrillator."

Judging by the boy's crinkled brow, Steven didn't seem to think that was necessary. Rose jumped to his aid, "If there is an accident, I will happily offer healing."

Steven gave her a sideways look, but Blue Pearl was undeterred. "At the very least, I am going to return and get a snack and some water for him."

" _Pearl…_ "

"Some water might be a good idea." It was Garnet that spoke, still waiting on the warp pad behind Rose. "Where we're going, it can get rather warm."

Blue Pearl bowed lightly at Garnet. "Thank you." She turned and began walking back towards the beach. "I shall return shortly."

"Wait, Pearl!" Steven quickly jogged after her.

Now by themselves in the entrance hall, Rose joined Garnet and Amethyst near the warp pad.

"Well, Garnet," she said. "Do you See any major changes with letting Blue Pearl come with us?"

Garnet was silent as she searched through her visions. Amethyst scoffed, "Man, she's insistent when she wants to be. She's almost as bad as our Pearl. No wonder she won't stop scowling for half a second whenever Bloop is around."

Rose smiled softly down at Amethyst, laying a fond hand on the top of her head. "This is a very unique case for Pearl. Give her time to come around."

" _Hmph_. Ya think she'd be happy. I know _I_ would be if we found another Amethyst."

The smile faltered slightly as Rose patted her on the head before drawing her close to her leg. "We know, Amethyst. Perhaps someday."

"No. I don't See an major differences," Garnet said, before looking over at Rose. "Although… Blue Pearl will be a little clingy."

"I assumed as much," Rose said. "Her devotion to Steven is rather… interesting."

Garnet nodded. "It is."

"Pearl believes that devotion is merely residual devotion to Blue Diamond," Rose added.

"She's told me," Garnet responded, then paused meaningfully. "Multiple times."

"Do you have an opinion on the matter, Garnet?"

"Yes."

"And?"

Garnet was silent for beat before answering, "When we fought at the Fountain, she shielded him from my attack with her body. That's something I've never seen a Pearl do for her 'master', Diamond or otherwise."

"Yes," Rose said. It was strange, to be sure. Whatever relationship Steven and Blue Pearl shared, it wasn't a "normal" Pearl and master relationship. And it had undergone a radical transformation in the past few days - right around the time Garnet said Mr. Universe had come to see her, crying. 'Dear'. Not 'My Steven', or 'My Diamond', but 'dear'. A human word.

"And at the Fountain," Amethyst added, "after everything was over, she called Steven her 'family'." She shrugged. "That's a human thing."

Rose nodded, pulling Amethyst closer into a half-hug. "And no thoughts on that, Garnet?"

Garnet gave her a small smirk. "I'm hoping that today's training session will help me crystallize my opinions on the boy."

Rose smiled back. "Ah, so _that's_ why you suggested to bring him along."

"I can multitask."

Rose laughed. "Well, I would hope so."

A few minutes passed before Steven and Blue Pearl returned, a bag hanging off of Steven's shoulder. A bag shaped like a _fish_ , of all things.

"It's a bungeo-ppang," Steven said, when Amethyst laughed at it. "You get them in Korea! They're really tasty."

"Oh I am sure," Rose said as casually as she could. She waited until Steven and Blue Pearl had stepped onto the warp pad before stepping onto to it herself. She noted that Blue Pearl stood behind Steven, her hands placed firmly on his shoulders.

A moment of tense silence passed as they all stood on the warp pad.

"Garnet, would you like to do the honors?" Rose asked.

"Sure."

The warp pad glowed as light shot up around them, lifting them off their feet and taking them to their destination.

* * *

The ground rematerialized under Rose's bare feet. The warp stream disappeared, and warmer, drier air washed over her. They were luckily in an area that was hidden from sight, a walled off alley, if Rose had to guess off hand. That was good. They didn't need more humans seeing them warp in again.

"Where are we?" Steven asked as he stepped off the warp pad.

"Lagos." Garnet answered. "In Nigeria."

" _We're in Africa_?!" Steven gasped. "Are we going to see elephants? I've always wanted to see an elephant."

His enthusiasm was certainly infectious. Rose gave him a genuine smile. "Oh, I love elephants! They're so intelligent, and it's so clever how they can manipulate things with their noses! But I'm afraid we won't see any today. The ruins are located within the city."

"Aww…" Steven sounded rather dejected.

"Hey, cheer up, dude. I gotcha covered." Amethyst turned around, revealing her nose had been replaced by a long trunk and two large, floppy elephant ears stuck out from under her hair.

Steven laughed at Amethyst's antics, but Blue Pearl stepped closer to Rose, considering her with deep, blue eyes. "Why did humans build their city so close to ruins?"

"I can't say," Rose answered. "They might not have know what they were. But humans, brave and curious as they are, would hardly let a little uncertainty stop them!"

"But _you_ could have stopped them," Blue Pearl said. "Surely it's dangerous for humans to build their homes so close to Homeworld ruins."

Rose laughed at the notion and began moving forward, the group following behind her. They weren't sure, exactly, how long Blue Diamond had been secretly coming to Earth, but it didn't seem to have been long enough for Blue Pearl to fully comprehend humanity's pure, unadulterated and utterly delightful stubbornness..

"In my experience, once a human has their mind set on something, they're not easily dissuaded."

"Yeah, just look at Beach City," said Amethyst, pushing her trunk out of the way so she could talk more clearly. "We had to save their boat from a giant monster and they _still_ wanted to live there."

"Yes. We give them warnings," Garnet added, "but they _never_ listen."

"But you could have stopped them," Blue Pearl pressed. "You are a Gem, not of Homeworld but still. You could claim ownership of the ruins."

"We have never wanted to claim ownership of this planet," Rose said, perhaps a bit more firmly than she intended. "And even if we did, Earth is their _home_. Humans should be allowed to move wherever they desire."

"I see," Blue Pearl answered simply before turning to Steven, whose arm was wrapped in Amethyst's trunk. "Sweetheart, perhaps you should take your hoodie off?"

Once again, Rose managed to keep her surprise from her face, as did Garnet, who caught her eye and nodded, just enough for her to notice. But Amethyst was rather less discreet with her snort of amusement.

" _Sweetheart_?"

Steven freed his arm as Amethyst let her features return to normal. "Yeah. It's pretty hot here," he said evenly. Rose made a mental note to have another word to Amethyst about tact in delicate situations.

He pulled his arms through the hoodie's sleeves and then pulled it over his head. Underneath the hoodie he was wearing a simple black shirt, adorned with a large bright yellow star, similar to the one that was on Blue Pearl's hair clip.

Blue Pearl held out her hand. "I can store it in my gem."

"No, it's okay, Pearl," Steven said as he brought his bag to his front. He unzipped it and folded the hoodie and placed it inside. "See? I got it."

"Ah. Okay then," Blue Pearl said simply.

Rose watched the pair in silence. _She offered her 'services', but he declined them. The change is going both ways…_

A voice broke Rose out of her train of thought. "There you are."

She turned and saw Pearl jumping down from the top of one of the concrete walls surrounding them. She landed without a sound, graceful as always, and quickly strode over to them.

Pearl's looked over at Steven and Blue Pearl, with that carefully neutral expression she used when she was displeased and not willng to show it. "You were able to convince him to come, I see."

Steven stepped forward and looked steadily at Pearl. "Hello, Pearl-ssi."

Pearl was visibly taken aback at the way he addressed her, and so was Rose. It took a moment for her mind to process the translation:

 _ssi: honorific, designating respect and equality._

"Oh," Pearl blinked at him. "Uh, yes. Hello, Steven Universe. Pearl," she said in acknowledgement as she moved past them.

Rose noted, with delighted curiosity, how Steven looked up and beamed at Blue Pearl, and how Blue Pearl nodded gently and smiled back at him. Rose wasn't sure what had changed, but something _clearly_ had, even beyond what Garnet had told her about Mr. Universe."Were ya able to get in, P?" Amethyst asked.

Pearl sighed. "As best I could. I found no sign of intrusion."

"My visions were correct," said Garnet.

Pearl gave her a wry smile. "Yes, yes, they were."

"Good. I knew you'd both be able to do it." Rose said. "Then if we're all ready, I suggest we move out. Pearl?"

Pearl lead the way, sticking to alleys and backstreets to avoid onlookers. While humans had an amazing propensity to ignore oddness, the Gems' inhuman appearances could occasional attract attention, which was the last thing they wanted that day. More than once, their roundabout route lead them over walls or balconies. Most of the Gems had no trouble climbing these, and Pearl could not resist showing her skills off with dramatic leaps and twirls. It left Rose beaming at her, giddy at such delightful displays, even after all this time.

The walls posed more difficulty for Steven, who struggled on his own until Blue Pearl hesitantly offered some assistance. The boy took such assistance equally hesitantly, but let Blue Pearl carry him with a jump that may not have been as showy as Pearl's, but was equally graceful.

They carried on through the city. Once or twice, Rose caught sight of a tower or a spire, and was tempted to lead the group up to the top of one for some sightseeing. She had to resist the temptation, though. They had a mission, and no doubt the others would be frustrated by the distraction. She buried a sigh and floated over the most recent wall, landing lightly on the ground.

Pearl put on a half smile, "Nice jump."

"You weren't bad yourself," Rose beamed back.

"You know…" she said, and the half-smile became the smirk that Rose did so love, "this all reminds me of that raid we ran on the western Sun Shrine. Not the first one, the second."

Rose could see it at once, and grinned back.

"Leaping from pillar to pillar, racing towards the heart of the shrine, dodging Red Eye blasts and artillery fire. And then the _look_ on that emeralds face when you told her-"

"-you can fly, but you can't run!" they finished in unison, and burst out laughing.

Amethyst groaned in impatience. "Can you two save it 'till later? I wanna get to the ruins."

It took Rose a few moments to get a handle on her laughter before they could carry on. The glare Blue Pearl shot their way, and the uncertain look on Steven's face helped, though, and certainly helped her remember her private promise to herself for today:

Don't talk about the war.

* * *

Rose wasn't the only with a tendency to become distracted, however. Steven often stopped to admire the posters or signs hanging from walls, or strained his neck to catch glimpses through windows or storefronts. More than once, Blue Pearl had to call him over as he fell behind.

"Sorry," he apologized as he hurried back to them.

"It's alright, Steven," Rose said. "I understand that this is a new place. And you want to take it all in."

"Yeah," Steven responded, adjusting the bag on his shoulder. "I've never been to Africa. We haven't even gotten to it in our lessons before."

"Lessons?" Rose asked. "What sort of lessons?"

"About all kinds of things," Steven answered. "Science, math, history, geography."

"Oh my," Rose said, "that sounds very interesting."

They chatted for a bit on the topic, Rose privately marvelling at how fascinating it was, that Steven had to learn so much from scratch. Ahead of them, Pearl let out a quiet groan. Rose ignored it, having long since accepted that Pearl did not quite share her fascination with humanity.

"So… do you have a lot of experience interacting with humans?" Steven asked Rose.

"Oh yes." Rose laughed. "You can hardly be on Earth as long as I have and not do so." They passed by another road, down which Rose could see a busy main street. People walked down the sidewalk and cars noisily drove down the street. "Humans are incredible," she said, not really talking to anyone in particular. "There's so much to you, and each and every one of you are different." She looked back at Steven. "And that's why _you're_ incredible, Steven. You're a crossroad between humans and Gems."

Steven said nothing in return, only staring down at concrete ground beneath them. As he walked, Rose noticed the very tip of his blue gem poking from the neck of his shirt.

Rose felt a surprising surge of pity for the boy. Of all the Gems in the cosmos, Steven had to inherit Blue Diamond's gem. It was an unfair fate, one Steven had no control over. And the helplessness that came with the supposedly predetermined nature of a Gem's life... That was something Rose was quite familiar with. For the longest time, she had numbly accepted the fate she had been given and simply did what she was told; but only until someone helped her realize that creating her own path in life was possible.

Rose was just about to say as much to Steven when Pearl spoke up, bringing Rose's attention back to the present.

"We're here."

In a small clearing of the modern-day concrete jungle, were some ancient stone pillars marked with Gem characters. They were barely standing, having been damaged through the years, but even now the very air surrounding them thrummed with powerful energy.

But what surprised Rose the most was what she saw beyond those crumbling ruins: Beds of flowers, neatly trimmed grass, newly paved paths dotted with benches. Humans and various domesticated pets strolled around with a stark casualness, hardly paying attention to their surroundings.

The Gems came to a stop, staring.

"It's a… park?" said Steven.

"It seems so," said Blue Pearl.

"They turned the laboratories… into a park," said Pearl slowly, shaking her head. "I hardly believed it when I first saw it…"

"I did not See this," Garnet simply stated.

Barely able to restrain her delight, Rose practically skipped to the fallen pillar which marked the park's entrance. Embedded into it was a plaque that read:

" _Dedicated to our forebears:  
The ever elusive Fish People"_

Rose read it several more times. "Humans are quite strange," she said finally, smiling.

"That they are," Pearl responded, frowning.

"Well. It makes no difference." Rose walked back over to the group. "Our mission remains the same. Pearl, Amethyst." She looked over at the two. "You two begin searching the area. The artifact is still here, somewhere. This was most likely only the entrance hall for the lab. There must be way into its deeper levels somewhere."

"Gotcha," Amethyst said.

"We'll see what we can find," Pearl added.

The two headed off to investigate parts of the ruins-slash-park.

Rose turned to Garnet. "Given that this location isn't as secluded as we thought, are you still going to go through with the training?

In response, Garnet looked down at Steven, who jumped when he realized all eyes were on him.

"Oh. Well, I mean..." Steven started. "I've had visions in public places before. Like buses and parks and stuff. So… If you're still willing to help me…"

Garnet nodded, and lead the group away from the entrance of the park to somewhere a little more private. All of her attention on was on Steven. "Your first goal: try and trigger a vision of us arriving."

Blue Pearl shifted where she stood, and Garnet was quick to notice.

"He needs greater control," Garnet explained. "Not just to trigger a vision, but to trigger _when_ that vision takes place."

"Ah. Of course. Forgive me." It was hard to tell, given the calm and leveled way Blue Pearl spoke, but Rose thought she could hear the barest hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Steven closed his eyes. "I sometimes have trouble trying to get a specific time."

"I know," Garnet responded. "It took you a few tries at the Arena."

"Yeah…" Steven's eyes fluttered before closing again. Rose noted that his cheeks had taken on a slight blue coloring.

"So," Garnet said, "bring a vision of us arriving."

"Remember your breathing, Steven. Like _we_ practiced." Blue Pearl said.

Steven didn't say anything in return. He just breathed in deeply, held it for a moment, before slowly releasing it.

For several seconds, he just stood there, eyes closed, expression blank, his arms hanging at his side. Until Rose noticed his mouth twitch. And not just that, but she could Steven's eyes moving from behind his eyelids.

He was having a vision.

"Be careful, dear," Blue Pearl said. "I'll tell you if you're about to run into anything."

Though his eyes remained closed, Steven's head jerked towards her, and his brow creased in a frown.

Rose herself made no commentary. She found the whole thing fascinating. She had seen Garnet have visions before, of course, but Garnet grew almost unnaturally still whenever she was exploring a vision. Steven on the other hand, squirmed around, moving from foot to foot, before he began to move in tight circle around them. He opened his eyes, but he didn't seem to be looking at anything in front of him, instead staring into the far distance.

As she was observing him, Rose suddenly felt something brush and push against her leg. She looked down and saw the most _adorable dog._ All splotchy brown black, with pointed ears and a drooling tongue, tail lashing backwards and forwards in excitement as it bounded towards the group—

Rose couldn't hold back her squeal.

"Zena! Zena!" the dog's child cried, pulling back on the leash, but it was no use. The leash flew out of their hand as the dog threw itself at Rose, doing its best to cover her face in slobber, and only reaching her chest. "Oh— no, I'm sorry, _stop—_!"

"Oh, it's no trouble, no trouble," Rose assured, enthusiastically scratching the creature behind its magnificent ears. "This is an Alsatian, isn't it?"

"Yeah!" said the young child, trying to pull it back.

"Oh, I remember when they were first bred!"

"Uh..." the child said. "How?'

"Oh, I'm thousands of years old," said Rose. "But never mind that! How did you get Zena here?"

And the child was off, happily telling the story of their seventh birthday and wheedling and pleading, and how they'd finally convinced their parents to let them visit the shelter, and how Zena had been one of the sickest dogs there and—

"Can you be _quiet_!" Steven snapped, stomping his foot. There was lightning sizzling over his skin.

The blue glow sizzled out of the corner of Rose's vision, and before she even realized what she was doing, she'd pushed the child behind her, placing herself as a shield between them and Steven. The child flinched, and Zena's ears went back, tail between its legs.

Rose held her gaze steady on Steven Universe as the familiar power surged through her, prepared to summon her shield in a second.

The park around them felt silent.

The lightning around Steven faded. He blanched.

"Sorry," he muttered, immediately apologetic. He made a small bark, and the dog relaxed a little, although the child still looked shocked.

"Maybe a little quiet would assist in concentration," Garnet suggested, with a pointed look at Rose. Warmth flooded her form.

The child was not so easily convinced. He were clutching Zena's leash. "You're sparking," they said accusingly to Steven.

"Sorry," he repeated, the last of his blue lightning fading.

"And why are you blue?" the child asked, pointing at an increasingly flustered Blue Pearl.

"Ah, little one," Rose said, coming to Blue Pearl's rescue. "Why don't you run off with Zena? My friend and I have something we must do."

"Oh! Right. Sorry, Ma." He tapped Zena on the head. "Come on. Let's go." The dog barked and both of them ran off, and Rose watch them go with some disappointment.

WIth the pair gone, Rose then placed a firm, but gentle hand on Blue Pearl's shoulder. She didn't shirk away at all, which was a little surprising. Though, maybe it shouldn't have been…

"I believe we can trust Garnet to handle it from here," Rose said. Steven was taking in another breath, eyes closed, while Garnet watched passively. "Shall we leave them to it?"

"I can not leave," Blue Pearl said simply.

"We're not _leaving_ ," Rose responded easily. "We are merely giving them some space so that Steven can practice efficiently." Blue Pearl remained where she stood. "Steven will be within plain view throughout," Rose gently assured. A pause. "Surely you do want Steven to be able to focus on his lesson?"

That seemed to snag her. Blue Pearl looked over at Steven again, who had now laid his fish shaped bag on the ground as he stared intently at the ground. Finally, she moved, though over to Garnet rather than away with Rose. Blue Pearl looked directly at Garnet, her reflection looked back at her in Garnet's sunglasses.

"Ensure that he stays hydrated," Blue Pearl said. Steven cheeks deepened into a purple blush. "And if he gets tired, take a break. And make sure he doesn't run into anything. He can sometimes get carried away with his visions."

Garnet looked at her evenly. She didn't smile, but her expression did seem to soften. "Alright. He will be safe with me."

Blue Pearl continued to glare before nodding curtly. "I'll be watching," she said. Blue Pearl then swiftly turned, sparing a fleeting glance at Steven whose attention was still focused on the ground, before looking back at Rose. "I'm not going too far," she said. "Just enough to give him space."

"Of course," Rose responded. She waved an arm and let Blue Pearl lead.

They did not go far— just to a playground hidden in the shade of one of the remaining pillars, out of earshot. As they walked there, Blue Pearl looked over her shoulder constantly. Rose took a seat on a piece of rubble and invited her companion to join her, but Blue Pearl declined with a "No, thank you," and continued her vigil of Steven and Garnet.

Over the laughter, chatter and barking of the park's visitors, the sounds of Pearl and Amethyst's search could just barely be heard, if Rose focused. It seemed that Amethyst was trying to get Pearl to dare her to carry as many ruined pillars as possible. She wasn't making much headway, from the sounds of it.

Rose listened to the fond bickering for some time, then turned her attention back to Blue Pearl. She wanted to find something they hopefully break some of the ice between them. "Steven is certainly a talented individual. I've never met anyone quite like him."

"Of course not." Blue Pearl didn't take her eyes off Steven and Garnet.

"I look forward to getting to know him better," Rose went on.

Blue Pearl said nothing.

"I understand you helped Mr. Universe raise him. That is certainly a feat." Rose chuckled. "At least, I assume it is. I'll admit, my own knowledge of raising children is rather limited, so—"

" _Please_." Blue Pearl said only one word, but it was enough; sharp and pointed as it was.

Still, Rose pushed, wanting to get to the root of this. It might be her only chance for a while. "Pearl, is something wrong?"

Blue Pearl looked down at the ground, before slowly turning to face Rose. "Is… Garnet qualified for this?"

"Qualified? I'm not sure I understand what you mean, Pearl."

A silent beat and Blue Pearl said, "Has she ever taught before?"

"Oh yes. Of course," Rose answered. "She had more than her own fair share of students during the Rebellion."

Blue Pearl said, "She taught them how to fight."

Ah. Rose understood the issue here.

"Oh, no. Far from it," Rose said, deliberately keeping her voice light. "Combat training was Pearl's or my own area of expertise. Garnet helped new recruits with… the more emotional side of things… Staying calm in panicked situations, not letting despair or anger overtake you, understanding one another. Things of that nature."

"I see," Blue Pearl responded.

"Garnet was easily one of the best among us," Rose said. "Slow to anger, but quick to care." She looked over at Garnet, still carefully watching Steven as he slowly walked around in the midst of a vision. "I may be the face of the Rebellion, but in so many ways, Garnet is its heart."

Blue Pearl nodded silently at her. "Very well," she said.

"I know Garnet can seem intimidating," Rose said. "But rarely have I met someone as loving and accepting as she is. Sometimes, appearances can be deceiving."

Blue Pearl was silent, only for a moment, before she quietly said, "And that is a lesson you have learned recently then?"

"I suppose if there is one thing Earth has taught me…" Rose said carefully, "it's that you can never stop learning."

"Of course," Blue Pearl said. "And never mind who gets hurt during that lesson."

Rose slid off the rubble she had been on, landing softly as the grass brushed against her bare feet. She had prepared, and now was her chance.

"In hindsight," she said, "what we did to Steven is more than regrettable. But at the time, we knew nothing about him. Not even Garnet's future vision could offer us any guidance."

"So you judged him. By his appearance," Blue Pearl said. "Assumed he was his mother, solely by his gem."

"We did," Rose said heavily. "We opted for caution when we were dealing with the unknown. Would you have done anything different in our place?"

"You treated him like a beast," Blue Pearl shot back, ignoring the question. "Kept him in a cage until it suited you."

"Yes, we imprisoned him until we knew he was safe. We caught him leading two gems of the Blue Court on a raid of one of our most precious resources, after spying on us for months. And he bore a Diamond's gem."

"He's not Blue Diamond!" Blue Pearl was almost yelling now, her gaze was sharp and pointed and aimed completely at Rose. "He is _Steven Universe_. He is _not_ his mother."

Rose looked calmly at Pearl. "No, he's not Blue Diamond. But-"

"But you didn't care! Steven told you he wasn't, Greg told you he wasn't, I told you he wasn't, but you didn't care!"

Rose bit back her initial reply after those last few words registered. Oh, she'd been _stupid_ not to see it earlier. This wasn't an argument about right or wrong, or what was logical or reasonable or even fair. It was about love. And about someone too often left voiceless needing to be heard.

"It's not that we didn't care," Rose said carefully. "We had never seen anyone like Steven before. A human with a gem… it was something completely different. And we drew the wrong conclusions, and didn't listen when you told us that. I'm sorry. I want to do better. But I need your help."

Pearl said nothing. In that single gaze, Rose felt reflected the same scrutiny of the Crystal Gem troops on the eve before battle.

And before a battle, you needed a speech.

"Do you know how long it took me, to realize humans and babies were the same thing?" Hair fell into Rose's face as she shook her head, laughing at her own folly. "You have to admit, it's a little confusing. One's big and can talk, the other's small and can't… How was I supposed to know they were the same species?" She smiled. "But then I noticed— they grow. That's always fascinated me. They're _meant_ to change, to become something different… you've witnessed that, up close. You saw Steven grow. You helped shape him. And from what I can see… that shape's a good one. Creative, curious, thoughtful… Loving."

Blue Pearl was still staring back at her, unblinking. But there was the slightest tremor in her hand.

Rose had seen that tremor in her own dear Pearl, many times. A sign of deep, deep emotion, she was fighting so desperately to keep hidden.

"Loving, yes," the Pearl said. "We love each other. And we will do anything for each other."

Rose nodded. "Then will you do this for me?"

"I do not know what 'this' is."

Rose shifted, her dress rustling over the grass. "I'm not asking you to be my friend, Pearl. I'm merely asking that we set aside animosities so we may all help Steven. So that we don't hurt him unintentionally. He's… very special."

"He is one of a kind."

"That he is. But… it's a heavy burden that's been laid at his feet. All the things he's inherited..."

"Yes," Blue Pearl said softly. "I know."

"So please, Pearl," Rose went on. "We want to help Steven, but not without you. You can be there every step of the way." She smiled. "I don't think Steven would want it any other way."

Silence settled between them. The background was filled with sounds of people enjoying their day, of birds singing and children playing with their pets, but for the two of them it was silent.

Until finally, Blue Pearl spoke, "I will try. For Steven's sake."

Rose nodded.

It was a start, at least.

* * *

 _ **Aurthors' Note-**_ _Wow, werewolves were the clear winner of that informal poll! To see how we answered, check out our FB Occult AU, 'Ill Met By Moonlight'._


	25. Protection

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Protection**

"What am I gonna _do_?!"

"Well, I don't know," said Sadie. "Draw something?"

"I can't!" Lars moaned.

Sadie continued wiping down the counter. "Well, have you tried?"

"No. I don't need to. I already know I'm terrible."

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, that doesn't seem like a very helpful attitude."

"But it's the truth."

Sadie sighed. She grabbed her purse, rummaged around for a pen, placing it and a napkin on a dry patch of counter. She pointed at it. "Come on, Lars. Just try."

He glared, and huffed, but stomped over to the napkin and tried. Ten minutes later, he awkwardly pushed the napkin back towards her. Sadie picked it up, and looked it over.

"So?" he asked.

"It's nice!" said Sadie, staring down at the squiggles. "Um… really nice, bold lines, very creative—"

"What's it supposed to be?"

"Uh… a… dog?" she hazarded.

He slammed his palm into his face. "It's supposed to be a horse!"

"Oh. Well, it's not that bad— just, make the ears more pointed, and change the legs a little…" Sadie trailed off, realizing that Lars wasn't even listening. He was staring off at nothing. She bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, then stepped closer, risking the chance to wrap an arm around his waist. "Look, it's no big deal. Just submit whatever, who cares if you win?"

"I do! And Steven Universe does! If he submits some super awesome cool picture, and I give in some— doodle fart— I'm gonna look like a total buffoon!"

She squeezed him. "You will not."

"I will!" He pulled his hair. "He's probably working on making something really awesome, right now…"

* * *

One moment Steven was looking over at the park, empty, sky clear, the moon shining brightly above him. But then he blinked and rubbed his eyes and it was daytime again. The park was filled with people and the sun shone overhead.

He turned and looked at Garnet. "That… felt closer. It was at night, but it _felt_ like it was closer to present day."

Garnet nodded shortly. "Then you're making progress."

"Yeah, but I still can't pull the vision of us all arriving." Steven kicked a nearby rock a few feet away.

"You will get there in time," Garnet replied evenly. "For now, all you need is more—"

" _Yooo! Rose!_ We got it!"

Steven turned around and saw Amethyst and Pearl-ssi rushing over to Rose and Pearl. Amethyst had something clutched into her hands. He turned back around at Garnet.

"Let's see what they've got," Garnet said.

Steven grabbed his bag and pulled it over his shoulder as together they joined the four, Pearl-ssi already in the middle of an explanation.

"...and the entrance proper was just beyond those trees. It was small, well hidden by growth, and unless you knew how to slice into a control panel-"

"Like you do, of course," Garnet said as she and Steven approached.

Pearl-ssi smiled assuredly. "Of course."

Rose chuckled. "How in the stars did I end up with someone as amazing as you, Pearl?"

"Well, I do believe you _stole_ me," said Pearl-ssi, a knowing grin crossing her lips. Steven looked away, trying to focus on a nearby flower bed, suddenly feeling deeply uncomfortable. Pearl-ssi's face flushed with color. "Thought, maybe we can do this later… when we have some privacy?"

Amethyst let out a long groan.

Rose laughed good naturedly, and Steven felt his own cheeks beginning to warm as a hand was laid on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Pearl next to him, a small smile resting on her lips. "How did your training go, honey?" she asked.

"Pretty good," he answered. "I wasn't able to bring the vision up, but I got close a couple of times."

"He has a lot of natural skill," Garnet said. "And he already a lot of the basics down."

Steven beamed with pride, before noticing the artifact in Amethyst's hand. He leaned in to get a better look, and she grinned at him. "Ya see it, dude? Pretty cool, huh?" She held out the object for him to get a closer look. It was spherical, or maybe had been once, for now it was covered in all sorts of nicks and imperfections. Its exact color was impossible to discern, swirling and shifting, but it was somehow dark yet glowing with an inner light.

"What is it?" Steven asked. He tentatively reached out to touch it, and felt a strange cold-warmth roll up his arm. He quickly retracted his hand.

"We believe it's a sort of energy source," Pearl-ssi said. "To what level and extent we won't know until we're able to test it in a controlled environment."

"Ohhh," Steven cooed in wonder. "That's cool. Are you going to do anything with it?"

"We have no plans for it in the immediate future," Rose answered. "We retrieve artifacts mainly to secure them."

"Yeah, you said they're not stable," Steven said, still looking at the odd device. "Is it… like, at risk of blowing up?"

"No. Its core is stable and its main containment chamber is still holding together well," Pearl-ssi said.

"Main reason we're nicking it is so that it doesn't attract anything," Amethyst added.

"Like a corrupted Gem," Garnet answered Steven's unspoken question.

"Corrupted? What's a corrupted—"

Before Steven could finish his question, he was interrupted by the sounds of people screaming. They all turned and saw people and families running towards away from…

"A monster!" Steven yelled.

It was impossible not to notice, the way it was charging through the park. Huge and blue, with a giant horn jutting out of its head. In fact, Steven immediately recognised what the monster looked like.

"A giant beetle," he said taking an involuntary step forward, only to be pulled back by Pearl's tight grasp. A giant dung beetle, to be be precise. He had to stifle an almost-hysterical giggle at the image of it rolling the little sphere around like a ball of dung.

"You freed a monster," Garnet said to Amethyst and Pearl-ssi, her imposing gauntlets flashing over her hands.

"Hey, we didn't free nothin'," Amethyst said, summoning her whip and snapping it in the air.

"Enough." It was Rose, who was speaking calmly, but quickly. "Engage the enemy. I'll sweep the area and ensure all humans get to safety. And then I'll rejoin you."

"Alright, Rose," Pearl-ssi said. "Crystal Gems: Move!"

All at once, the three of them moved in perfect unison, dashing at the beetle monster with their weapons drawn. Again, Steven tried to move closer. He never had a chance to get such a good look at a monster like this before, but Rose was quick to stop him.

"Both of you stay back. I don't want anything to happen to either of you."

Before Steven could say anything in response, Rose leapt into the air, out sight.

"It's conducting electricity!" Steven heard Pearl-ssi yell. The three Crystal Gems leapt out of the way as a lightening bolt arced from the beetle's horn and struck the ground with a loud _crack_ , causing the ground to shake under Steven's feet.

There was barely a second before the beetle reared back and Garnet yelled, "Move!" Again, all three of them moved as if one entity, spreading out but still keeping the beetle surrounded. The beetle, for its part, charged forward, missing all of the Gems but still striking a slab of ruined wall, causing it to topple.

Pearl said something, but Steven didn't hear it. Instead, he heard another voice calling out.

 _"Help. Find boy. Find Pack."_

In the distance, on the other side of the of the battle, Steven could see a dog, its ears pushed back and head lowered in fear, its side glistening red with blood. The dog looked like a German Shepard and in an instant Steven recognized it. The one who'd been playing with Rose Quartz earlier, who'd been distracting him—

Without a moment's hesitation, Steven darted off towards the dog. Pearl was yelling after him, but he ignored her. She'd be angry with him, he knew that. But that didn't matter. The Gems weren't paying attention to the dog, and if it stayed there, it was going to get hurt. Or worse.

He ran behind the monster, dodging a misplaced chunk of ruin that Amethyst threw at the beast. He slowed as he approached the dog, not wanting to startle them.

" _Hey,_ " he said gently. " _Are you alright?_ "

The dog looked straight at him, its eyes filled with fear. " _Hurt. Where's boy_?"

" _I don't know_ ," Steven answered. " _But you're not going to find him staying here._ "

There was another crash, another _crack_ , but the dog stayed where it stood. " _I can't leave without boy._ "

" _He's already gone home_ ," Steven said. " _You need to as well_." His eyes moved to the dog's wound. It looked deep. " _And quickly. You need to get that looked at._ "

The dog was silent for a moment before responding, " _Elder boy did say to boy to return home in times of fear_."

"Exactly," Steven said. "So I'm sure that's where he is now."

 _"Okay_." And without another word, the dog bounded off into the distance, leaving the chaos of the park behind them.

Steven had only a second to feel relieved before he heard voices screaming out his name. He tried to turn, but saw only a blur of blue as _something_ rammed into him, sending him flying backwards. There was a sharp pain in his arm as hit the ground with his opposite shoulder, tumbling to a stop. Dazed, he tried to stand, but couldn't. There was something warm trickling down his arm.

His vision was blurry. He saw only vague shapes; something big and blue, and fuzzy figures moving at dizzying speeds. He blinked several times and it became clearer. One of the shapes, a slim blue one, was rushing a large, darker blue shape, some sort of weapon brandished in their hand.

"Pearl! Stay back!" It was a Pearl's voice, but he couldn't tell where the voice was coming from.

What he _did_ see was Pearl rushing in front of him, standing between him and the beetle.

"No. I won't let this monster hurt him!" Pearl was defiant, something he wasn't quite sure he'd ever heard in her voice.

 _No, no!_ She didn't know how to fight, she was gonna get hurt!

He tried to call out to her, tell her to let the Crystal Gems handle this, but all that came out of his throat was a hacking cough.

Pearl's defiance didn't save her from the monster's next attack. Steven saw the tip of its horn glow before it shot out another bolt of lightning, one that hit Pearl squarely in the gut and sent her flying back. She hit the ground and skidded to a stop, just a few inches away from Steven. She didn't move.

Steven's chest tightened, and his senses seemed to dull as the world around him faded away. He heard sounds, yells and crashes and felt more rumbling beneath him. There were shapes and colors flashing in the distance… darkness encroaching on his vision… the world around him ebbing away…

—only to be brought back in a rush, all at once, as something cool washed over his forehead.

His eyes shot open and he saw Rose Quartz leaning over him, the corners of her eyes shining and a smile spreading across her face.

"You're with us again, Steven," she said easily.

"Pearl!" Steven cried as he shot up. "Where's Pearl?!"

Thankfully, his question was answered immediately. She was sitting right next to him, hair a little disheveled, but otherwise looking completely unharmed.

"Steven," she said softly. "Are you alright?"

But Steven didn't answer, instead he leapt from where he sat and into her lap, wrapping his arms tightly around her and burying his face into her chest. As soon as he felt his face press against her, Steven felt a knot of tension and worry that he hadn't even been aware of dissolve into a sense of relief. He hugged her tighter, wanting to ask if she was alright, but the words refused to come.

" _Shh, shh_. It's okay, it's okay. I am here…"

Steven wasn't crying, not really. And he might have tried to tell Pearl that, but… hearing her voice and feeling her gentle stroke on his back made him feel better about what she'd done. And what he thought had happened to her..

"Pearl acted very bravely," Garnet said. "She fought to protect you."

"Yeah," Amethyst chimed in. "Dunno if it's the _smartest_ thing to rush a corrupted Gem with a broken branch. But it was brave, I guess."

Steven let go of Pearl, though he remained seated in her lap with her arms snugly around him.

He rubbed his head. It was amazing how the pain was completely gone. He mumbled thanks to Rose Quartz for the healing, and the Crystal Gems for protecting him. He looked slowly around the park. It was in terrible state. The ruins were even _more_ ruined, the grass was all torn up, benches had been thrown haphazardly, and the slide in the playground had been crushed. Thankfully, there were no signs of bodies anywhere.

"Where's the monster?" he asked.

"Sent it off with a bubble," said Amethyst.

"To the Temple," Garnet clarified, when he saw Steven's frown. "Along with the power source we came here to collect."

"Did… the power source do that to it?" said Steven, slowly.

The Crystal Gems looked at each other.

"Do what to what?" asked Amethyst.

"To the beetle," said Steven. He wiggled his fingers to indicate magic. "Like… magical radiation… changing them… Turning all these animals into monsters?"

There was a beat of silence. Steven felt Pearl lay a hand on his shoulder and squeeze.

"He doesn't know," Pearl-ssi said, shooting at glare at Pearl. The other Crystal Gems all looked solemn, except for Amethyst, who just looked uncomfortable.

"Know… what?" asked Steven, a now very familiar discomfort settling in his stomach.

Rose was the one who answered. "The monsters are corrupted, yes. But they are not corrupted _animals_." She took a deep breath. "They are Gems, who have had their body and mind twisted and changed. Left with only a shadow of their former intelligence, filled with uncontrollable fear and rage, and… are now only a danger to all other beings around them."

Steven was silent, letting this knowledge settle around him.

He'd never thought much about the monsters. They'd only come poking around the Palanquin once or twice; those had been scary times, with him huddling inside, listening to Pearl scaring them off. Whenever he asked questions about them, Pearl's explanations had been brief: that they were an artifact of Homeworld's attempted colonization and the War.

He'd just sort of filled in the blanks himself. He'd always assumed...

"All… all those monsters… they used to be Gems?"

There were nods all around. Steven looked at Pearl. She was still for a moment, and then she nodded as well.

"After the war," Rose began, "our main goal was to tend to them, try to heal them. So far though… we haven't had any positive results. All we can do is destroy their form and bubble their gem, for their safety and others."

Steven grimaced down at his feet. Speaking to no one in particular, he asked, "I thought those were just… mutant animals or something… How'd that even happen?'"

Amethyst scoffed. "What do ya think, dude? _Homeworld_."

Steven looked up. "They- why would they do that?"

"It was their last, defiant blow against us," Pearl-ssi said evenly. "We'd won the war, freed the planet… but the Diamonds simply couldn't stand that."

"They unleashed an attack that affected every single Gem on the planet," Rose Quartz continued. "Loyal Homeworld soldiers and Crystal Gems alike. It didn't matter." Her expression fell as she looked away. "They punished _everyone_."

Pearl-ssi walked over to Rose, wrapping an arm around her waist and resting her head against her arm. But Steven only looked down at his lap, at the blue hands that were wrapped gently around his own waist.

"Geez, dude," Amethyst said. "You really _were_ kept in the dark, huh?"

Both Steven and Pearl were silent in return.

* * *

It was night in Beach City by the time Steven and Pearl returned to the RV. Lapis was off flying, and after inquiring how it went, Dad went off to Fish Stew Pizza to get a quick dinner.

Only Steven and Pearl were left alone in the van.

After what seemed like hours of heavy, oppressive silence, Steven spoke, asking in an almost whisper, "Why didn't you tell me the monsters were corrupted Gems?"

"Because you weren't ready."

"I'm twelve now."

"Yes, but you weren't always, darling," Pearl responded. "When you were young, you were not ready for such truths. So I kept them from you, waiting until I thought you could understand them."

"Like you being a slave."

Pearl's face twitched, but she didn't look away from him. "In a similar manner, yes."

"Okay," Steven said as he slid off the table's seat and walked over to where Pearl stood. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "No more secrets, okay? We're honest with each other from now on."

Pearl's lips pressed together, but she remained silent.

" _Pearl_ ," Steven insisted. "We- we're a family, right? You, me, and Dad. _And_ Lapis. And families don't lie to each other." His gaze fell to the floor. "Or at least _our_ family shouldn't…"

A beat of silence passed, before Pearl spoke, "Alright, Steven. I will… I will do my best."

"Okay," Steven said, feeling a heavy weight lift off his chest. Smiling and his tone lifting, he continued, "Why don't we get plates and stuff out for when Dad gets back with the pizza?"

Pearl smiled back at him. "A very good idea, dear. You can grab the napkins and I will get the plates."

* * *

Pearl waited until it was dark and the humans had begun preparing for sleep— if they were not unconscious already— to approach their van. She hesitated outside of it, uncertain of the protocol for this kind of situation, and not wishing to draw the attention of either Universe.

She was preparing to attempt a knock on the vehicle's door when Blue Pearl stepped out...

...and froze— the typical Pearl response to being startled.

Pearl slowly raised an open hand and flashed a smile to reassure her. "Ah! Hello, Pearl. I was hoping to speak with you."

"Hello." Blue Pearl took a cautious step forward, and eased the RV door close behind her. "May I ask what about?"

"About what you did today. How you fought that monster."

"Attempted to fight," Blue Pearl corrected.

 _"Fought,"_ Pearl repeated. "Whether you were successful or not, you still did what you could, to protect yourself and others." She paused a moment, to see if Blue Pearl would say something. When she did not, Pearl added, "You were very brave."

The other Pearl gave the slightest of shrugs.

"My bravery should have not have been necessary. We were reassured that there would be no danger on that mission," she said.

"Ah," said Pearl, hemming a little, "yes, well, we were mistaken. Garnet's future vision can occasionally be—"

"Wrong."

"—Faulty," Pearl said. "She's not infallible, I'm afraid. This universe is filled with unexpected dangers."

The other Pearl said nothing. Just stared at her. Pearl could feel her silent judgement, right down to her core.

"I could teach you self defense, if you want," Pearl said, and now she couldn't help her hands from twisting around each other. "The spear is my forte, obviously, but I'm also extremely experienced with a sword. I've noticed you favour that knife, and I could help you with that as well."

Blue Pearl clasped her hands to her chest. "I see. Thank you very much for the offer, but I do not know if this would be advisable."

Pearl felt a flash of disappointment and frustration, but pushed against it. This had been expected, and she wasn't going to give up that easily. "I know what you're thinking— it's hardly appropriate for a Pearl to be fighting. But you've _already_ fought, and it is more than likely you will have to again. Next time, we may not be there to help you."

Blue Pearl raised her head, but said nothing.

"It would help you protect Steven," Pearl made herself add, after a moment.

A small exhale a breath, almost a sigh, and Pearl thought she had her. But then she said, "Again, thank you, Pearl. But I am currently too busy to pursue combat training."

Pearl put her hands on her hips. "Too busy with what, exactly? Surely Steven doesn't require _constant_ attention."

"I have my duties."

"What duties could you _possibly_ have in the middle of the night, while he's asleep?"

Blue Pearl drew herself up to her full height, face flashing in a frown, opening her mouth to say something— and then pausing as if to reconsider. "It is something you should know," she said. "I will show you."

Blinking, Pearl said, "What?"

Blue Pearl was already walking at a brisk pace down the beach, waving at her to follow. "My duties. It will be easier to show you than to explain." Pearl hurried to follow, suspicion and curiosity burning in her core. The other Pearl seemed to sense that suspicion, and said, "You may bring the rest of your team, if you wish. They should also see this."

 _Now_ this _is interesting_ , Pearl thought.

She followed the other Pearl's request, and gathered the rest of the Crystal Gems. Blue Pearl requested they all follow her onto the warp pad, which was met with some resistance. "Not until we know where you're taking us," Pearl said.

"The Kindergarten."

Immediately they all stiffened.

"What duties could you possibly have there?" said Rose Quartz, frowning.

"I am not re-activating it, if that is your concern," said Blue Pearl. "Please. What I am doing is for the protection of this planet and its inhabitants."

They could hardly not go. One by one they all stepped onto the warp pad— Amethyst last of all, her eyes fixed stubbornly on the ground, forcing Pearl to ask her to come along.

It was dark in the Kindergarten. Darker even than it had been in Beach City. The cavern walls loomed over them, blocking what little light the night sky offered. Pearl illuminated the way with a bright beam of white light from her gem, Rose and Garnet following suit.

Amethyst stared around, and took a step closer to Rose. "This… this isn't my Kindergarten."

"No. This is Beta," said Blue Pearl. She did not even need a light, navigating completely from memory, setting off into the darkness.

"The second Kindergarten," breathed Rose.

" _This_ is where it was," said Garnet, holding up another hand to give more light.

There had been rumors of it, during the War. Seemed to be the only way Homeworld could be getting so many new soldiers onto the planet so quickly. But the place's location had been fiercely guarded. Pearl had been part of many scouting parties to fertile areas, as well as spy missions to gather intel from key Authority Management Posts; they'd all turned up nothing. Every one the Crystal Gems had captured had either known nothing, or claimed so, committed to hiding the truth.

And here it was.

How could the rebellion have turned out, if they'd known about it back when it had mattered?

Just as her mind was threatening to get lost in a dark maze of what-ifs, out of the darkness loomed a dark _thing_. Pearl stepped closer and turned her head to it, bathing it in light, and could only say, "What _is_ that?"

"A drill," said Blue Pearl.

She explained. About the Cluster, buried deep under the planet's surface, set to emerge in the next year, its body growing and growing and growing until the Earth cracked like a shell around it.

"Ugh," said Amethyst. "That's just **sick**."

Pearl burned with rage. "It wasn't enough for them, was it? Wasn't enough for them to drive every Gem on this planet mad. Couldn't leave them alone, even after that. No, they had to make sure Earth was reduced to dust—"

Garnet was just standing there, shaking— shaking enough that her very form seemed to be warbling. "All those Gems," she whispered, "forced together like that…"

Rose came over, wrapped an arm around Garnet's shoulders to steady her. Garnet's glasses had vanished, and she was staring at the other Pearl with tear-filled eyes.

The other Pearl stared impassively back.

Pearl stepped forward, wrapped her fingers around Garnet's left hand, gave a gentle squeeze. She thought, _Don't blame her, Garnet. She had no control over this. No blame._

"Blue Diamond never approved of this plan, not wholly," said Pearl. "After coming to Earth, she turned against it completely. This is her attempt to set things right."

Rose's voice was very soft when she said, "She changed her mind."

Pearl glanced at her. _How much?_ Pearl wondered. _How much did she change, really?_

Blue Pearl bent down to open what appeared to be a primitive human tool box, pulling out a wrench. "I've been working for years on this project, and Lapis began helping me recently. I understand that none of you are mechanics, but nonetheless, if we pool our resources, I believe that we'll—"

"Show me your blueprints," said Pearl.

"—be able to— uh. Yes. Of course." Momentarily thrown by the interruption, Blue Pearl turned away, rifled for a bit, then returned with a neatly stapled stack of paper. She handed it silently to Pearl.

Pearl flipped through it. The designs were well drawn and clearly labelled with the precision of someone whose life depended on keeping accurate notes. They were hardly the most elegant designs ever. Crude attempts at joining human and Homeworld technology, odd engineering choices that were often overly complex, the occasional calculation error which would be devastating if implemented…

But the essential plan was sound.

Pearl cast her eye to the half-completed carapace of the drill. "Yes," she said. "I can work with this."

She reached into the tool box, plucked out a screwdriver, tossed it ten feet in the air, and caught it easily.

"Show off," Amethyst muttered.

Pearl smirked. "Let's get started, shall we?"

oOo

 **Authors' Note:** The dastardly forces of 'GoogleDocs automated content bots' tried to hide this entire chapter from us yesterday, but we managed to reclaim it, and present it to our waiting fans. Rejoice, rejoice!


	26. Exploration

It was a bright, sunny morning as Amethyst soared above the beach. It was empty, aside from a small green-brown speck moving towards the Temple's fence. She peered down curiously; then all her feathers fluffed when she recognised the speck as Connie.

What's she doing here? It's not the right day... Is it?

Amethyst flapped her wings in a shrug. Wasn't like human time schedules made much sense to her anyhow.

Connie had laced her fingers through the fence's chains, pressing her face right up to it, and calling out, "Amethyst? Ameeeeeethyst! Are you here?"

If Amethyst had had lips right then, she would've smirked.

Instead, she let out a high pitched screech, and dived.

Connie had only a second to look up, her eyes widening behind her glasses. She screamed as Amethyst's claws reached down to her-

\- and the screams broke into choking giggles as Amethyst dug into her hair, wings flapping wildly.

"What're you doing?!" Connie cried, trying to stifle her laughter.

"Making a nest!" Amethyst wiggled herself into a cozy resting position. "Yep. Nice and soft. Perfect for eggs. And other bird stuff."

"Amethyst!" Connie snorted, trying ineffectively to bat her away. When that didn't work, she tried shaking her head, harder and harder. It took her literally rolling around in the sand to dislodge Amethyst. By then, Connie had dissolved into a helpless barrage of giggles, so the Gem considered this a victory.

"That's what'cha get for sneaking up on me!" Amethyst told the girl, returning to her normal shape.

"I snuck up on you?!" Connie exclaimed.

"Yeah! It's Two-days, you're supposed to be stuck at school."

"Tuesday," Connie corrected, standing up and brushing sand from her clothes. "But there's no school today- Oh, right. I guess you don't know. It's summer vacation now. No more school."

Amethyst grinned in delight. "Finally! Now we can hang out all the time!"

"Er, well, not all the time. But a lot more for the next three months." Connie nodded her head and smiled back. "Yeah, a lot more!"

Amethyst didn't really understand school. It seemed kinda pointless to her. Sitting in a room for a full eight hours a day, learning stuff that seemed pretty useless- in over four thousand years, she'd never once had to write an essay, or use chemistry, or whatever 'algebra' was.

But Connie swore up and down that school was important, and it could be fun, even though the only thing Amethyst had ever seen her really get excited about was that camping trip. But when she asked her how that had went, Connie's expression dropped and she stared down at her feet.

"I didn't get to go."

"What?! Why not?"

Connie closed her eyes and spoke in a very stiff manner. "My parents said it was too dangerous. That they couldn't trust the teachers to 'adequately monitor a group of two-hundred students and ensure my safety'."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Pfft, like you need some 'teacher' looking out for ya."

Connie didn't respond. She just stood there, eyes still closed, opening and closing her left fist.

A big part of Amethyst wanted to run up to Connie's parents and knock some sense into them. For being her parents, they didn't seem to realize how awesome Connie was...

Amethyst shook her head. She grinned and picked Connie up, crying, "Well, who cares, huh?! I can take ya camping right now! It'll be a hundred times cooler than anything ya woulda done at school!"

It startled a laugh out of Connie, even if the girl was quick to say she couldn't go camping now. She didn't have food or clothing, and her parents would be so upset. None of those were major concerns to Amethyst. What made her stop was Connie saying, "And besides, there's- uh, actually something else I wanna do."

"What's that?"

"I just wanna check the docks, really quickly."

"The docks?" Amethyst sorta half-shrugged. "What's so great about the docks?"

"Nothing, just-" Connie ducked her head. "I just met someone there and- It's kinda stupid, he probably won't even be there, but- Just quickly, please?"

"Fine," Amethyst said, but only because Connie really seemed to need some cheering up. "But let's be quick, okay? I have a surprise of my own, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, right-" Connie was cut off with a shriek when, still holding the human above her head, Amethyst took off at a run towards the docks. The shriek dissolved into laughter as Amethyst went faster and faster, truly showing off what Gem speed could do. It was nothing really. It wasn't even as fast as Amethyst could go.

The hard part was stopping.

The dock was approaching quickly, the ocean rearing up behind it, a few humans yelping as they dove out of the way. Connie was yelling too, pulling at Amethyst's hair, so Amethyst dug in her heels and just barely managed to avoid plunging both of them into the water.

"Ha! How was that?" Amethyst demanded, placing her friend gently down on the dock. There were skid-marks on the wood, and a few places looked like they were close to catching fire. But other than that, a successful trip.

Connie's eyes were wide, but she was smiling when she said, "I think I'm gonna barf."

From behind them, came a third voice. "Amethyst? Connie?"

"Steven?" said Connie, spinning around. "Steven! You're here!"

"Yeah, I am," he said, holding his art-book to his chest, and looking between the two of them. "And you nearly went swimming."

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up." Amethyst threw up her hands. "You two know each other?"

"Um… yeah?" said Steven.

"He's the person I wanted to meet," said Connie.

"Ah, crud!" Amethyst said, stamping her foot. "I wanted to introduce you!"

The two of them blinked, and in unison said, "You did?"

"Yeah!" Amethyst stood up straighter, clearer her throat, and with a dramatic wave of her arms announced, "Presenting Steven Diamond Universe!"

"Steven… Diamond… Universe…?" Connie said. "Like, a Gem?"

Rubbing his neck, Steven said, "Uh… yeah…" Then he smiled, puffed out his chest and pulled down his collar, putting his shiny gemstone on display. "Tada!"

Connie did not look as impressed at this as she should have been. Brow furrowed she said, "Wait, as in 'Blue Diamond'?"

"Yep!" Amethyst crowed.

"The 'evil space queen' you've kept locked up in the Temple?" Connie asked skeptically. "He's Blue Diamond?"

"Yep!" said Amethyst.

"Uh, well actually, I'm not Blue Diamond, my Mom-"

"So you've been keeping his Mom locked up?" demanded Connie.

"No," said Amethyst. "We were keeping him locked up. Because we thought he was Blue Diamond."

"Him," repeated Connie, gesturing at Steven.

Steven gave a slightly forced smile.

"And… did he do all that stuff you said he did?" Connie asked, taking a slightly nervous step away from him, and closer to Amethyst. "Was he... Was he was the one who made you... regenerate?"

Steven threw up his hands. "Woah! No, I didn't!"

"Yeeeeah, no." Amethyst fiddled with the ribbon on her waist. "That was his friend Lapis."

Connie's eyes widened at that. Between the two of them, Amethyst and Steven managed to fill Connie in on the the attempt to break Steven out of his prison cell. But the story made her face take on a weirdly pale color, so Amethyst was quick to add, "But don't worry, this kinda stuff is totally normal for us!"

Connie bit her lip. "Still... It sounds really painful…"

Steven was looking really uncomfortable by where the conversation had gone, too. He was staring down at the wood planks beneath them.

"Psssh, no pain, no gain. 'Sides, look what I got out of it." Amethyst dramatically swept her hair back.

Connie stared at her, clearly not getting it. Amethyst felt something inside her clench.

It was Steven who got it, glancing backwards and forwards to the two of them. "Oh! Your hair looks just like Connie's! Or, well, not just like it- it's white, hers is brown, but-"

"I- what-" Connie stared at Amethyst, then clutched at her own hair. For a moment she just stared in confusion; then a slow, shocked smile spread across her face. "I… Wow. You... chose to do that?"

"I… yeah." Amethyst's Core felt weirdly warm, but did her best to at casual. "You look really awesome, Crushed! I wanna look awesome too!"

"Uh-huh. Well..." Connie ran a hand through her own hair. "Thanks!"

Nobody said anything for a few moments. They all just looked at each other.

"So. Um..." Amethyst coughed. "How d'you two know each other, anyhows?"

"Uhhhhh…." said Steven.

Connie intervened. "We ended up hanging out last time I was in Beach City, and then his Dad drove me home."

"Last time? You mean when we went to wrestling?" asked Amethyst.

"No. Four days ago..."

Amethyst frowned. "You came around four days ago? Why didn't ya come find me?"

"Well, uh…" Connie wouldn't meet her eyes. "I did come to see you! But I got to the fence, and you weren't around, and Mom doesn't like me going near the Temple unattended anymore, and you said I shouldn't either, because 'the Diamond might zap you with lightning'-"

"Hey!" said Steven.

Amethyst gave him an unapologetic shrug, then refocused back on Connie. "Well, why didn't ya call me then?" She pulled the phone out of her pocket and waved it. "Why do we even have these things if you ain't gonna use 'em?"

"I'm sorry Amethyst… I just… wasn't thinking straight…"

Connie trailed off, rubbing her arms. Amethyst narrowed her eyes at her. Something was wrong. She was upset.

But about what? Amethyst wanted to ask, but… Well, Connie kept glancing to Steven. Nope, couldn't ask with him there. Heck, maybe he was even the reason she was upset! Maybe he'd used his crazy crying powers and-

\- Nah. That made no sense. There'd been no blue light or nothing. And Connie wouldn't have been oh-so-eager to find the guy if he was the reason she was sad.

Still. Something fishy there.

"Uh, well," said Connie, straightening up and forcing some cheeriness into her voice, "What do we wanna do now?"

Steven was putting his art-book and pencils away in his bag. "I was just thinking about going to go grab something to eat… Maybe at that fry place?"

"Oh, I'm not allowed to have fries. They're too salty-"

"Ugh," said Amethyst, by now thoroughly done with all of Connie's parents' stupid rules. She grabbed Connie by the arm and began dragging her towards the boardwalk. "Live a little, Crushed! C'mon. Let's get you some fries!"

* * *

It wasn't long before Steven found himself burdened with a tray filled with a feast for a fast-food -inclined king. French fries, onion rings, deep fried fish, soda, and a token bowl of tossed salad. On his right was Connie with a tray on her own, lighter on the fries, heavier with the salad. To his left, Amethyst's was heavier on everything, including mustard packets, napkins, and plastic cutlery.

All that was left was the question of where to sit.

The inside of the Fry Shack was pretty busy and cramped. Though to be honest, Steven wasn't overly keen on eating outside. Partly because of the stiff ocean breeze, which he was afraid might steal their napkins. Partly because of the weird mascot out there.

"What? That's the best part!" said Amethyst, when he admitted as much. "C'mon, you gotta watch, it's great."

"Watch what?" said Connie.

"You'll see~!" Amethyst sang.

Steven glanced at Connie, who just shrugged. The pair of them followed Amethyst outside, taking a seat on one of the tables to watch the show, whatever it would be.

He popped the first fry into his mouth- warm and crispy on the outside, starchily soft on the inside, with the perfect balance of salt and ketchup- as he spied on the mascot standing a little ways down the boardwalk, waving its arms. He knew it was stupid, since it was just somebody in a suit, but... the thing kinda... creeped him out. Its eyes were so big and glassy, and its smile was just a little too wide that it almost seemed sinister.

What's even the point of it? Steven wondered, as he munched on his fish and listened to the gulls cawing overhead. The boardwalk was practically empty, and the few people who wandered down didn't look like tourists. Having an actual person out there advertising just seemed like a waste.

Maybe the thing scared everyone away, Steven thought, and chuckled to himself.

"I know, right?" Amethyst asked, smirking. "It's pretty goofy. But watch this." She gathered a huge handful of fries in her hand.

"Ame," Connie said, "What're you gonna-"

Amethyst flung the french fries at the mascot's back. The person inside didn't even notice through the thick fabric of their costume.

But the seagulls certainly did.

They descended in a chorus of hungry shrieks: "FOOD! FOOD! EAT! FOOD!"

The fries that Amethyst had thrown were gone in seconds, but the gulls were far, far from satisfied. With no real food left, they turned onto the next best thing: the 'hair' of the mascot, shaped like thick, yellow fries, and reeking of grease.

"Nonononono! No, not again!" screamed the person stuck inside the suit, waving their arms and running in a circle. "GO AWAY, YOU STUPID BIRDS!"

Amethyst was practically doubled over with laughter, Connie scolding her. Steven, on the other hand, jumped to his feet and ran towards the poor besieged soul in the suit.

"Stop!" he told the birds. "Stop, that's not food!"

Beady yellow eyes turned to stare at him as the gulls began to chant, "What? What? Whatwhatwhatwhat?"

"Not food," Steven repeated.

"What- what are you doing?" asked the person in the suit. He was just a kid, Steven noticed, probably about his age, eyes wide and desperate.

"I'm explaining things to them," said Steven. "Don't worry, it should only take a couple of minutes, and then they'll never bother you again."

* * *

Connie spent the next half-hour eating her salad and watching Steven shriek at birds.

For the first five minutes, she was pretty much breathless with wonder as Amethyst casually explained, "Oh yeah, he can talk to like, all sorts of stuff," and Connie's mind ran through the endless possibilities this new discovery provided.

But her excitement quickly turned into boredom as Steven's attempts to explain to the gulls that, while the Frybo costume looked like fries, it was not actually fries, dragged on. It turned out that whether they could talk or not, seagulls were not particularly bright.

After a large amount of food had been offered up as bribes, the birds flew away in a large squawking cloud. The kid in the suit- Peedee, as he introduced himself- was so grateful that he wrapped Steven in a hug, one that Steven didn't seem to particularly enjoy.

Connie waited until the mascot kid had wandered off, and Steven had returned to his now-cold meal to tell him just how impressive it was that he could literally talk to animals, and ask him if he had any other powers.

"Um… well, a few. I can shapeshift, and see the past, and…"

"See the past? What do you mean?"

"Well," Steven said. "It's like a vision. A vision of the past."

"Wow," Connie cooed. "That is so cool."

Connie wasn't sure why she was so surprised to discover Steven had powers. After all, she'd seen the big honking gemstone in his chest, just like Amethyst's, and she knew that he'd apparently been locked up because the Crystal Gems thought he was dangerous, somehow. It was just… he looked so normal, at least compared to any of the other Gems Connie had met.

Not that Steven didn't have his own interesting features. While his bluish tinted skin and oval, crestfallen eyes gave him the appearance that he was unwell, there were other features that worked to his advantage. The color of his eyes, for one. Bright blue and they almost seemed to sparkle in the afternoon sun. It was very lovely, so much that Connie didn't notice that both Steven and Amethyst were giving her weird looks.

"Are you okay, Connie?" Steven asked, bringing her attention back to the present.

Connie blinked as her face heated up. "Oh! I was just- just thinking that you don't really look like any Gem I've seen." She paused a moment, gathering herself before continuing. "I mean, Amethyst is shades of purple and that Gem who escorted us to the carwash, Lapis? She was blue." She shrugged. "You just look a lot more human comparatively."

"Pearl's told me that before," Steven replied. "It's because most Gems' bodies are 'hard-light holographic projections', but I have real skin and organs and stuff."

"Yeah, Crushed," Amethyst spoke up as she casually considered the salty, greasy plate her food had been on, before easily popping it in her mouth and swallowing. "That's why me and all the other Gems can lose our bodies and still come back so easily." She thumped her chest. "It's just a holo-watsit."

"But I'm different," Steven said. "I've got a regular body." He pinched some skin on his arm, to emphasize the humanness of his body.

"I see," Connie said slowly. "So you really are like, half human and half Gem, huh?"

Steven nodded. "Yep. I am."

They were quiet for for a few minutes as they watched people walk down the boardwalk, going about their day. Finally, it was Amethyst who spoke.

"So… what do ya guys wanna do now?"

"Well…" Steven said, pulling his bag around onto his lap. "I was going around town and sketching some landmarks earlier, if you want to see."

"Oh, you're an artist?" Connie asked, before answering her own question, "You were putting up your sketchbook when Amethyst and I came."

Steven nodded, a small smile spreading on his face. "Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't call myself an artist," he quickly added. "But since I can't play an instrument like my dad, I just draw instead."

He chuckled good-naturedly. Connie chuckled with him, and was about to ask if she could see some of his drawings when Amethyst spoke up again.

"That's cool, dude. Buuuut… How 'bout I pitch another suggestion?"

Steven shared a look with Connie before Connie asked, "Alright. What do suggest, Ame?"

Amethyst stood up in her seat so that she was taller than the both of them. "Glad ya asked, Crushed. How would the two of ya like to see the inside of the Temple?"

Connie felt her brow raise at the suggestion. She'd seen the Temple, of course. Once or twice she'd walked Amethyst back to it after a day of hanging out. But she'd only ever seen the entranceway. Her parents had taught her to never come into someone else's home unless invited, though she wasn't really sure how that worked with ancient temples…

But she still wanted to see what was inside, what it was like. No doubt it was filled with all kinds a magic and wonder; things that nobody had ever seen before. Just like when Lisa was trapped in the Wizard Wilds…

But if Connie was feeling a little excited by the prospect, Steven seemed a bit more hesitant.

"In the Temple?" he asked Amethyst. "And… we'd be allowed?"

Amethyst shrugged. "Well I haven't exactly asked anyone else. But if I show you my room, what can they do? It's my room?"

"Well, yeah but… I dunno…" Steven trailed off, fiddling with the spiral edge of his sketchbook.

At first, Connie was unsure why Steven seemed so reluctant, but then she remembered what Amethyst had told her. That they had, not so long ago, had a space queen captured in the Temple. And that space queen had turned out to be Steven. No wonder he was reluctant.

Connie was about to suggest some other activity (even though she hadn't quite figured out what exactly), when Steven spoke up again, "Alright. I want to see inside the Temple."

That wasn't exactly what Connie was expecting to hear. "Are you sure, Steven?"

He put on a noticeably forced smile. "Sure. I mean, it's just an ancient alien Temple, right? What's the worst that could happen?" He chuckled, though that seemed more genuine, which made Connie feel a little better about still wanting to go. "Alright, Amethyst. You want to lead us?"

Amethyst grinned as she jumped down from her seat. "Thought you'd never ask," she said, pointing away from the fry shack and towards the Temple in the distance. "Let's go, you two. We'll have a lot to cover when we get to my room."

Without another word, Amethyst took off.

With just a glance and a smile shared between them, Steven and Connie ran after her.

* * *

Steven was surprised that no one was around when they got to the Temple. From his experience, even after he had been freed from the cage, there was almost always someone milling around in the entrance area of the Temple, usually either Rose Quartz or Amethyst. But now, no one was around, save for the three of them.

Connie was staring around in wide-eyed wonder, which seemed kinda weird to him. There wasn't much to look at, just grey stone, a warp pad, and a door.

Steven had come to resent that door. From a distance, it mostly just looked like a turquoise slab with five stones set to a five-point star. But during his time in the cage, it only served as a reminder of his captivity while his captors could come and go as they pleased.

He hesitated approaching it.

Connie, on the other hand, ran up excitedly, saying, "Oh, this is so cool! How do you open it?"

"Heh, that's the trick, dude," Amethyst answered. She turned around to face them, pulling the neck of her shirt down to better display her gem. "The door'll only open for me, Garnet, Pearl, or Rose."

"Oh, so it's like… linked to you?" Connie asked.

"Yeah. Or something like that. Pearl always yammers about the Temple being 'an extension of our magical essence' or something." She shrugged. "I don't really know the specifics."

Steven had noticed how the Temple door always seemed to open to something different, depending on who used it. He had to admit that was kind of cool.

Amethyst turned back around and, after a moment's pause, light began shining from Amethyst's gem into the gemstone of similar color on the door. The one on the door began glowing too, and soon the door split down a curved line, the two halves receding into either side of the wall, revealing inky blackness in the doorway.

"Tada!" Amethyst flared out her fingers. "One open Temple door."

"Wow!" Connie exclaimed. She took a hesitant step forward, doing her best to peer in without actually going inside. "This is awesome. Even if it is really dark."

"Yeah, it's always like that," Amethyst said. "Don't worry. It's perfectly safe. Mostly. Come on." She grabbed Connie by the hand, pulling her in, leaving Steven to follow.

As he walked into the darkness, for just a moment he truly didn't see anything, until all at once his vision came back.

They were in a cave of some sort. A way, way bigger cave. Giant crystals jutted out of the ground and walls in clusters, casting imposing shadows all over them. He couldn't even see the ceiling from where he stood, and he thought heard the sound of running water and smelled the distinct scent of petrichor from a distance. But the most striking feature of the cave was the number of heaps of what Steven would generously describe as junk looming over them.

Amethyst turned, a large, proud grin across her face. "So? Whaddaya guys think?"

"It's very… unique," Steven answered evenly.

Amethyst seemed to accept this, turning her attention to Connie who, like before, was seemingly trying to look in all directions at once. "Crushed?"

"How is it so big?" she asked. "Are we… still in the cliffside?"

"Sorta?" Amethyst shrugged the question off. "Pearl said it was somethin' like a 'pocket dimension maintained by my gem' or something. I dunno." She chuckled, "When Pearl gets real technical, I kinda zone out."

Steven couldn't believe he was thinking this, but he kind of wished he could track Pearl-ssi down and get a full lecture from her about how it all worked, right then and there.

"Right…" Connie replied slowly. Her brow fell and she pursed her lips together. She must be starting to feel nervous.

"It's alright, Connie," Steven said. "I've been to lots of Gem places. And nothing bad has ever happened at them." He smiled softly at her. "And if Amethyst thinks it's safe, then it probably is."

She smiled nervously back at him. "Right, yeah. I mean, I figured, but…"

"Aw, don't worry, Crushed." Amethyst came between the pair and wrapped and arm around each of their waists. "When you're with me, nothin' bad will ever happen to ya."

Connie laughed good naturedly, her smile growing in size. "Yeah, I guess I shouldn't doubt you, Ame."

"Heck nah, you shouldn't. Now come on." She grabbed both of their hands and pulled them along. "Let's try and find something cool to do!"

Connie was laughing and Steven soon found himself joining her. He had to admit, this was not where he'd expected his day to go.

Amethyst led them through the cave, weaving around towering piles of unknowable contents, before finally skidding to a halt next to a particularly large pile. The sound of running water was much louder there. Steven looked past another pile and saw a waterfall, of all things, flowing into a small lake. He briefly wondered how it got there and where exactly all that water was going.

Amethyst looked at the pile they had stopped at closely, examining it up and down before releasing both of their hands. "Alright," she said. "This one looks promising. It's an older pile."

Steven certainly couldn't judge its age, or know exactly what that had to do with anything, but the pile certainly did look noticeably larger than any of the others. Its contents was a hodgepodge of random items: random chunks of rocks, garbage can lids, boxes of magazines, hubcaps, scraps of a strangely colored metal, a satellite dish, a cracked figurine of a clown, and, sticking out at the very top, a bowling pin, of all things.

"Where did you get all this stuff?" Connie asked, getting a closer look at at the pile.

"Just around," Amethyst answered. "I see something that looks cool and I grab it."

He idly wondered if petty larceny was a common problem in town. Not that everything in the pile looked to be human in origin. The aforementioned strangely-colored metal reminded him of decorations he'd seen in some Gem ruins, and at the base of the pile was a chunk of rock that seemed to have once been part of a larger image depicting several figures gathered around… something. It looked like one of the murals from the Lunar Sea Spire. He bent down to examine it more closely.

"Alright you two. I'm gonna go spelunking to see if I can find anything cool." Before any questions could be asked, Amethyst leapt into the air and dived into the pile, scattering bits of its contents everywhere.

"Okay, Ame!" Connie called into the pile. "Um, be careful, I guess."

Relative silence descended upon them, save for the waterfall and the sound of Connie padding around the pile. Steven continued to inspect the mural. The figures were almost definitely Gems, though what they were gathered around eluded him. Still, it did look rather cool. And maybe if he sketched it and showed it to Pearl, she could offer some insight.

He reached for sketchpad, tucked under his arm, but before he could open it, Connie knelt down beside him.

"Hey," she greeted lightly.

"Hi," Steven offered back, not knowing where to go from there. "Um, did you see this?" He pointed at the chunk of rock.

"Ohhh," Connie cooed. "It's… a picture of some kind? A mural maybe? Or part of one."

Steven nodded. "Yep, that's it."

"Who are the people in it?"

Steven looked back at the mural chunk. The design of each figure was fairly simple, in traditional Gem artistic-style, each one slender, holding a single arm out. The only thing that really differentiated them was the circle, or square, or triangle that marked each of them.

"They're Gems, I think," Steven answered. "See the shapes on each of them? I think that's meant to be their gems."

"Oh, right," Connie said. "Yeah, that makes sense." She scooted a little closer. "What's that they're all gathered around?"

Steven frowned. "Um, I don't know. I was going sketch a quick picture so I could show Pearl and see what she thinks."

"That's a good idea," Connie said. She considered the mural for another moment before asking, "So… Do you know who they are?"

Steven shook his head.

"How about where the mural came from?"

"No…" Steven forced himself to respond through the rising wave of frustration. "Not really…"

Steven felt his teeth grit together, followed by Connie saying, "Are you alright?"

He took a few seconds, mentally counting down in his head before letting go of a breath and answering, directing his gaze down to his lap, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

Steven hesitated. "Yeah, it's just…" He sighed heavily. "I've got a gem, but I don't really know that much about Gems… Like I know about holographic bodies and regeneration and stuff. But important stuff, like what life is like on the Gem homeworld or Gem culture or… anything like that..." He ended with a shrug.

Connie silently considered him for a moment before asking evenly, "You've never been? Off Earth, I mean."

Steven shrugged again. "I went to the moon base with Pearl once, but we didn't stay long. She just said she needed something out of the database."

"Well… that's still really cool," Connie said. "And impressive. I mean, you've got to be the youngest person to have ever gone off-planet."

"I guess…"

"And, you know," Connie continued. "I don't really know anything about Gems. I mean, I've been friends with Amethyst for a couple months now, but… she doesn't really want to talk about stuff like that."

This didn't surprise Steven. She'd been made on Earth, and didn't seem to care about space or where they'd come from. And even if she did, there was no reason she'd talk to Connie about this stuff. Humans didn't need to know about Gems.

"But this is different," Steven said. "Pearl lived on Homeworld. She knows all about it. And I'm supposed to lead Homeworld one day, and she still acts like I'm a little kid or something…"

Steven trailed off, and when he glanced back up, found Connie looking thoughtfully at him from behind her round glasses.

"Yeah," she said. Her voice was soft, but weighted. As if she knew exactly what Steven was referring to. "Grown ups can be like that." She shrugged before continuing, "Always thinking you need their help, never really asking you what you want to do or if you even like tennis!" She finished strongly, throwing her hands up in the air before seeming to realize that Steven was still there. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Kinda got personal there."

But Steven didn't mind. Just like at the dock, it felt reassuring that he wasn't the only person dealing with problems like this.

"It's okay, Connie," he said. "I guess, whether Gem or human, parents are just kinda… like that sometimes."

Connie giggled. "Yeah, that's true I guess. A universal constant."

Steven nodded, smiling now. "Truly universal. Since it's like- across the whole universe. In every single species, in every galaxy. "

"Well, let's not get too carried away," Connie said. "I'd like to think there's some kind of intelligent life out there that has been spared this fate."

They laughed together, their voices carrying around the cavern and echoing around them. But soon, their laughter died down, and Steven found himself fiddling with the spiral edge of his sketchbook again.

"Thanks, Connie," he said.

"For what?"

"Just… for talking with me." He shrugged. "It's not easy making friends, you know? Not with-" He pulled down the hem of his shirt, revealing the tip of his gem. "-with this."

"Oh," Connie said. "Steven, it's- You're great to talk to, Steven. And just hang out with. And, well, just remember this..." She smiled again. "No matter what problems you're facing, there's always someone who can help you with them," she said, before adding, "My Dad tells me that whenever I'm having trouble with some kind of problem. And it's usually true."

"Your Dad sounds like a smart guy," Steven smiled back at her.

"Don't let him hear you say that."

They laughed together again, the lump of frustration that had settled into Steven's chest dissolved, leaving behind only a warm feeling. Just like last time, talking to Connie had really done a lot to help.

She was… kind of amazing.

Steven opened his mouth to say… something, but he was cut off by the clanking sound of metal on metal.

"Look out dude!"

Steven looked up and fell to his left, dodging the bowling pin that had been tumbling right towards him.

"Sorry, Steven." He looked up to find Amethyst sticking partway out of the junk pile. "Things can be a little unstable at times."

Connie helped Steven to his feet, before looking up at Amethyst and asking, "Did you find anything?"

"Found lotsa things," Amethyst said. "Gonna come down and show ya, but…" She began squirming and pushing against the pile.

"What's wrong?" Steven asked.

"I'm er… Well, I'm kinda stuck," Amethyst admitted.

"Stuck? But I've seen you lift cars before," Connie said.

"Pssh, I can get out no problem. But if I move the wrong way, the whole pile could come tumbling down."

"Oh," Steven said. "Well, then let Connie and I get away so you can-"

But Amethyst just scoffed. "Dude, I'm not gonna cause the pile to fall. All my stuff will get mixed up."

Steven looked at the messy and seemingly randomly put together pile, before glancing at the other similarly arranged piles around them. "Really?"

"Yeah. Just like I tell Pearl, I got a system."

"Then, what are you going to do?" Connie asked.

Amethyst didn't answer right away, instead still pulling and pushing against the pile. "I think… if I shapeshift in just the right way, maybe I can get out without causing the whole thing to collapse."

Connie nodded. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Just… ugh." She gave one final pull before finally relenting. "Just go to the other side. That's where I'm gonna come out."

"Alright, Amethyst. Let's go, Steven." Without waiting for him to respond, Connie took off around the pile, Steven hastily following after her.

The other side of the pile looked much like the side they had come from, just a random cacophony of items and objects mashed together. The biggest difference was that the small pond and waterfall were now positioned behind their backs as they intently watched the pile, wanting to see Amethyst as soon as she popped back out. But several minutes passed and Amethyst still hadn't come out.

"Amethyst?" Connie called, tentatively putting her mouth closer to the junk, "Are you still okay?"

There was a pause, before Amethyst answered, "Yeah. I'm good." Her voice was muffled by the pile and even sounded strained as she kept trying to free herself and preserve the pile.

"Are you sure?" Steven asked cautiously. "We can go get one of the other Crystal Gems if you need help."

"No way." Amethyst voice was stronger as well as a little sharper. "I don't need any help. Just… need… to- uh oh."

Before either Steven or Connie could ask what was wrong, the pile shifted. Steven took an involuntary step back before he heard a low rumbling sound. And before he could react to that, the pile began collapse, its contents spilling all over. Including at Steven and Connie.

Steven tried to adjust, but before he could even begin, the junk wave caught his feet and began to carry him away. He hugged his sketchbook tightly, not wanting to lose it. If he could just find the right footing, then he could-

\- Gravity caught him. He tilted, hitting something cold and wet.

He had just enough time to grab a breath, but there was a current in the water. It seized him, his hoodie and pants and shoes growing heavy, pulling him down. till he clutched at his sketchbook. Trying to swim up with just one arm was a futile effort.

The dim light from the surface was fading. Pain flared in his chest, and he kicked and kicked and kicked- but he couldn't even tell where the surface was anymore. He was going to drown here and-

Suddenly, he could breathe again.

He gasped, breathing in hot, hot air.

He hit something hard. .

The impact was unexpected, and knocked what little air he had out of his lungs. For several long moments all he could do was lie on what seemed to be a floor, recovering, heaving in as much of the precious, beautiful oxygen as he could.

He sat up, blinking blearily. The light here was a low, ominous orange, and his eyes had some trouble adjusting. He felt around for his sketchbook, but the floor was warm, almost unpleasantly so. The air itself was oppressively hot, already evaporating the water from his hair and clothes.

Steven's eyesight recovered just in time to see his sketchbook teetering on a ledge some feet away, just about to fall into what had to be the source of the heat.

"No! Don't-" Steven yelped, jumping towards it, but it was too late. The book sank into a pool of thick, bubbling red liquid, dark smoke trailing up.

Lava. He'd lost all his art to a pond of lava.

All the frustration and outrage Steven felt was quickly put on hold by his mind replaying everything that had just happened.

He had fallen into the pond in Amethyst's room, had been pulled under water, and was now... here. Wherever 'here' was, exactly.

There was a wet 'thwap' from behind him. "Ow."

Turning, Steven found Connie shakily picking herself off the ground, her glasses clutched tightly in her hand.

"Connie," Steven called as he ran over to her, making sure to go over the lava lanes. "Connie, are you okay?"

"Steven?" Connie turned towards him, squinting her eyes before putting her glasses back on. "Steven!" she said, this time with more energy. "You're alright!. I saw you fall into the pond and… well, I fell in after you. I tried to find you, and when I couldn't I was afraid you…" She trailed off before shaking her head. "You are alright, right?"

"Yeah, I think I am," Steven answered. But of course he was. After all, he had super Gem strength, and she was just a human. "How about you?"

She nodded. "Just a little shaken up, I guess. But I think I'm mostly fine."

"That's good," Steven said. "Though… now we need to figure out where we are."

The chamber around them wasn't anywhere near as big as Amethyst's room, but it didn't need to be. It felt big. The strange lava pit, the bare, curving stone walls, the mysterious curving tubes that reminded Steven uncomfortably of the cardiac system diagrams from his biology textbook. There didn't seem to be any doors.

"Is that real lava?" Connie breathed.

"Yeah, it is. Careful, I lost my sketchbook in it."

Connie nodded, and took a step back.

"So we're in a room, with no apparent exits, with lava in it."

"That seems to be about it," Steven said.

"It's just like the secret dungeon in Lord Courirfin's lair," Connie said, as she began to pace around the area. "In that book, Perdita figured out that she could escape by touching different floor tiles in the right sequence…"

Steven stared at the many, many floor tiles surrounding them. "I hope that's not it…"

"I know, it's probably something different in reality," Connie agreed. "But there has to be a way out. After all, there was a way in."

Steven didn't mention that this wasn't an ordinary place. They had to be still inside the Temple, and Steven could only guess at what rules might be in play here. "Let's look around and see what we find."

"Good idea," Connie said as she began to slowly look around and scan the whole room. "Maybe if we can- woah."

Steven had already been working against one of the wall-veins, pushing against it with all of his might. "What?"

"What are those things floating up there?"

Connie was pointing towards the ceiling. Following her gaze upwards, Steven was initially just as confused as she was- and then his stomach flipped as understanding dawned on him.

Floating above them were hundreds of bubbles of various colors. They looked almost like... party balloons. But inside each and every one of them was a gem. An actual gem. A person. It was hard to see from such a distance, but the way each stone caught the light of the lava, gleaming and glittering, was impossible to mistake.

Bile burned up his throat. This was some sort of prison.

"They're so pretty," Connie breathed, standing on tiptoes now to get a closer look. "Have you ever seen anything like them? What do you think they do?"

Before he could answer, something purple appeared from overhead. It screamed with Amethyst's voice, falling through the sea of bubbles, before landing on the floor with a wet slap.

"Amethyst!" Connie cried, running over to her.

"There you two are," Amethyst said, getting up and brushing herself off. She was soaking wet, just as himself and Connie had been just minutes before. "Why'd you two run off like that?"

"We didn't mean to," said Steven. "I fell into your weird pond thing and ended up here somehow."

"And I tried to rescue him!" added Connie.

"Yeah… well," Amethyst shook her head. "You both okay?"

"I'm fine," Connie answered. There was a beat of silence, before she looked over. "Steven?"

Steven blinked at her, before shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm okay too."

Amethyst explained how the puddles in her room were some sort of portal network, which lead to all sorts of different parts of the Temple- which would have been nice to know before leaving them alone next to one. "Good thing you didn't fall into one of the others," she said, pointing out a few circles of water almost completely obscured by the collection of bubbled gems. "Pearl woulda been so mad if you'd popped 'em-"

"And why's that, huh?" Steven asked, crossing his arms.

Amethyst blinked. "Cuz then they'd all get out?"

"So you admit it!" Steven accused. "You're- capturing gems in here! This is where you keep your prisoners!"

"Wait," said Connie, "What-?"

"Uh, yeah, duh." Amethyst crossed her arms right back at him. "We already toldja, dude. Those are the corrupted monsters. We gotta keep them here so they don't, like, eat humans' heads or something."

"... Oh," said Steven, feeling very stupid.

"Yeah. 'Oh'," Amethyst mimicked.

Steven felt his mouth hang open gazed back at the mass of bubbles. There were so many of them, all clustered around, they all couldn't even begin to fit in Steven's view all at once. He'd just assumed they were captive Homeworld soldiers, like in Pearl's stories, but... "They're… all corrupted?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah. Rose wasn't lying when she said all Gems on Earth, dude," Amethyst answered. "The only reason she, Pearl, and Garnet were able to survive was cuz Rose was able to protect them." She shrugged. "And the only reason I survived was cuz I hadn't popped out of the ground yet."

Steven was silent in response.

All Gems on Earth.

He hadn't really questioned the idea when Rose had explained it to him, but… to see them all here now… And this wouldn't even be all of them. If the monster from the mission was any sign, there were still plenty of corrupted Gems running around the world.

"Um, what's going on?" It was Connie who spoke, bringing Steven back to the present. "What do you guys mean by 'corrupted'?"

Amethyst began explaining things. Steven didn't bother listening. He just kept staring up.

"So they're like zombies?" he half-heard Connie ask.

"What's a zombie?"

"It's this sort of movie monster. We could watch it! Mom doesn't really let me, since they're so gorey, but-"

There was a whooshing noise. Steven wasn't going to pay much attention to that, either, but-

"Uh! Hey Garnet!" Amethyst's voice came out as a panicked squeak.

There, the fusion was. Standing in a door that had just magically appeared, staring at them seriously, from behind her impenetrable glasses.

Sweat trickled down the back of his neck that had nothing to do with the room's heat, and Steven stood a little straighter. Besides him, Connie did the same.

"Amethyst," said Garnet. She adjusted her glasses. "Steven. Connie."

"Hello ma'am!" said Connie.

"Hey," said Steven, risking a little wave.

"We were just… I was just…" Amethyst fidgeted. "They didn't break anything and I was keeping them safe, so- And anyway, we were just about to leave-"

Garnet nodded.

"Come on guys," Amethyst said, giving them a significant look, and Steven didn't have to be told twice.

They hurried out of the magical door, into the blessedly cool and dark out-cave of the Temple. Steven let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Amethyst turned around before the door closed behind them. "Hey, Garnet, do you think you could-"

"I won't tell Pearl," Garnet said.

"Okay. Um, thanks-"

The portal closed, replaced with the plain turquoise-grey stone of the outer Temple door.

The three of them stood there.

"Well," Amethyst said. "That didn't go too badly. What y'all wanna do next?"

Steven didn't answer. Instead, he felt a lightness in his head and felt a churning in his stomach. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his faculties.

"Maybe we could go explore some tidepools or something?" suggested Connie. "Steven?"

"I think I'll... probably just head home." He reopened his eyes and saw that Connie was looking at him softly.

"Are you sure?" Connie asked, sounding a touch concerned.

Steven nodded. "Dad and Pearl are probably expecting me back by now."

"Alright then," Connie said. "Um, it was fun hanging out with you."

And it had been. It had been fun.

But then they'd gone into the stupid temple and he'd nearly drowned and he'd lost his sketchbook, and he really just wanted to go back to the van and sleep.

Connie's smile faltered.

"I had fun too," Steven said quickly, with as much enthusiasm he could muster. Which wasn't much, but it seemed to cheer her up a little.

"Maybe you guys can actually trade phone numbers this time, so I don't gotta carry Connie around the town searching for you?" suggested Amethyst.

"Oh! Good idea!" Connie pulled her phone out of her pocket. It was some really old-fashioned, brick-looking thing, which was probably the only reason it hadn't died from their impromptu swim.

Steven had luckily forgotten his own back at the van, so his wasn't broken either. He entered his number into Connie's phone from memory, as well as Amethyst's (stolen) one. He handed it back. An awkward silence passed between them.

"Well… I'll see you guys later," Steven said. He waved before he started walking away and out of the entranceway.

"Bye, Steven," Connie waved.

"Yeah, see ya, dude. Now, come on, Crushed. Forget 'tide pools'. I got something awesome in mind for us…"

Steven didn't hear what Amethyst's plan was. He just walked away, back towards the van, his head hung low and a miserable, uncomfortable feeling resting in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

"Alright. Enjoy your donuts, guys." Sadie placed the several boxes of donuts on the counter and slid them across to the Cool Kids.

"Thanks," Buck said simply, taking a couple of the boxes.

"Yeah, thanks, girl," Jenny added, doing the same.

"These will help keep us motivated as we plan our next session," Ronaldo said, taking the remaining boxes.

"Well, you all go have fun," Saide said, forcing a weary smile. "And thanks for the business!"

"Supporting local businesses is a cornerstone of our economy," Buck said. "Or at least, that's what my Dad always says."

"Well, he keeps getting reelected for a reason," Saide said, not adding that was largely because he ran mostly unopposed. Instead, she just really wanted them to leave so she could collapse and get off her feet for a few minutes.

"I suppose so," Buck replied neutrally. There was a pause, before he nodded and turned to leave, Jenny and Ronaldo following.

The glass door had barely shut before Sadie sighed and collapsed against the counter. She rested there for a few moments before taking a deep breath and steeling herself. Taking a quick look to make sure no customers were heading towards the store, she left the counter and went through the 'Employees Only' door.

As soon as she stepped into the back room, she heard the rustling sound of her stepping on several sheets of paper. She looked down and saw various doodles, scribbles, and angry scrawls.

She sighed frustratedly as she kicked the papers aside and walked over to the table and chairs set in a corner of the room, to the source of all the loose papers.

"Lars! What are you doing? We're working!" Sadie said.

He didn't even look up from his current attempt. "You can cover the store for a bit, right?"

"I have been," Sadie shot back sharply. "You can't just sit back here all day and let me handle the shop."

Lars didn't respond right away. Instead, he finished up his drawing, considered it for a moment, before tossing it over his shoulder to join the dozens other scrapped drawings on the floor. Then he just grabbed another sheet and began again.

"I'll be out there in a minute," he said, still not looking at her. "Just cover for me a little longer."

Sadie was about to argue, but she heard the bell from the door out front, signaling that a customer had come in the store. She bit her lip, before sighing and letting her shoulders droop with resignation.

"Fine," she said. "Just hurry up."

Lars said nothing in return, only keeping his focus on his drawing.

Sadie frowned at him, before sighing again and returning to the front of the shop.

* * *

Pearl was not sure what she had expected to happen after introducing the Renegade to the Drill.

Perhaps, at best, complete indifference from White Pearl as she took over the project with the complete self-certainty in which she approached all things. At worst, a constant litany of snide words and sharp criticism as White Pearl continued in her attempts to prove how much better she was to her counterpart.

And indeed, there was the occasional criticism, though it was aimed almost entirely at Pearl's engineering and technique, and was always accompanied with advice on how to improve it. Pearl, well-aware of her faults in this area and ever-striving to improve her performance, took this all in stride.

It was the rest of the Renegade's attitude that she had trouble adjusting to.

There were none (or, at least, very few) of the snide remarks and general posturing White Pearl delighted in. When at work, her attention seemed entirely focused on the issue at hand.

Furthermore, she was quite willing to let Pearl share in the work. To ask for clarification on some design element or other. To request help when she needed another pair of knowledgeable hands. To even request Pearl's help when she struggled with some aspect of the highly-advanced Homeworld technology that was far beyond the Renegade's own knowledge.

The most disarming incident, however, happened just over a day into the two of them working together. White Pearl was standing there, absently screwing two planes of metal together, when she said, off-hand, "It really is quite impressive, it has to be said. I don't think I could have accomplished anything like this with only fourteen Earth years of study."

Pearl looked at White Pearl with no idea how to respond.

So she simply decided not to. She continued with her own task of integrating electronic systems, and was relieved when White Pearl said nothing more.


	27. Support

**Warning** **:** this chapter includes fairly heavy drinking, discussion of grief, abusive relationships and domestic violence.

 **oOo**

 **Chapter Twenty-Seven: Support**

"Ha! That's a royal flush!" Vidalia cried, slamming the cards down on the table.

Her friends erupted into groans as they pushed their chips towards her. Barb glared from over her straight flush. Vidalia met the glare with a bright smile.

"Aw, now don't be sad," she said. "I'm sure y'all will win later. And this next round's on me."

There were some eyerolls as Vi grabbed a handful of beers from her own fridge. She never got tired of that joke.

"You've _gotta_ get some new material," Donald said.

"And _you've_ gotta update your menu, Fryman," Vidalia shot back.

Fryman winked. "Don't need to change perfection."

"You said it first." Vi shrugged, balancing the cans in her arms. Three for herself, Barb, and Donald. Nanefua and Kofi would probably have something if they managed to show up after closing the restaurant. She glanced over at Greg. "Yo, rockstar. Can I get ya something?"

Greg regarded her with an inscrutable expression for a moment, and then grinned. "You know what? Sure. Hit me up."

"'Bout time," Vidalia said with a laugh, tossing him a can to replace his empty one. Greg must've been to over a dozen of these get-togethers, and never once had she seen him drink more than a single beer. Kind of a letdown, in her opinion. What sort of rockstar didn't booze it up?

(Apparently the same kind who'd retire to a random seaside town to hang out with a bunch of regular schmoes).

Saturday Card Nights were a regular event for the boardies. They couldn't arrange them _every_ week, but they did their best to have one at least every month, with rotating hosts and rotating guests. Yellowtail and his crew would join whenever they were home. Sometimes Harold would stop by, sometimes Suitcase Sam, and folks were always welcome to invite friends. Kept things fresh and interesting.

The night wore on. Hands were won and lost, junk food was consumed, stories were exchanged. Vi had tales of some pompous rich jerk who was trying to commission her, but changed what he wanted every couple of days. Donald had her doubled-over laughing as he explained how Ronaldo had almost gotten the shop burned down in his attempt to make a deep-fried Oreo sundae. Barb, as usual, had dozens of ridiculous stories, but the best one by far this week was the old lady who'd tried to ship a live cat.

Their conversations flowed easily between them, punctuated only by the occasional bang overhead. Sometimes, Donald or Greg would look up with concern and ask if everything was okay.

"Sure, sure," Vidalia would say, waving her hand and selecting a card. "The kids are just playing."

This didn't seem to reassure Greg, and when his son appeared in the living room doorway with a snake wrapped around his neck, Vi half expected the guy to flip his lid. But instead, he seemed to relax, and asked Steven if he was having fun with his new friends.

"Yep!"

"How about you, Onion?"

Onion stared back at her and reached out to stroke his snake's head.

Oh yeah. He was having a blast.

Of course, the kids' fun had to end. It was getting late, and not long after, Vi told Onion it was time for him to go to bed. He protested a little, but she reminded him he had school the next day, and eventually he relented.

"Yeah, it's time for us to head off too, kiddo," said Greg, getting up from his third beer and stretching.

Donald raised his eyebrows. " _You_ don't have to head off, Greg. It's only eight."

"Ah, yeah, but—" Greg began.

"I can get back to the van myself Dad, don't worry," Steven said. "It's only five minutes away."

"...Yeah, okay," Greg said. "But don't you go running off before giving your old man a bedtime hug, okay?"

Steven blushed blue, but wrapped his Dad around the waist. Vi couldn't help but grin to herself. It was amazing she hadn't realized the guy was a parent before. It came so naturally to him.

Fifteen minutes later, Steven was off and Onion was tucked in. The adults all gathered back around the table for another hand. (And some more drinks. Now that it was officially 'after-hours', Vi had brought out some of the _good_ stuff.)

"So," said Donald, at length, as Barb dealt out the cards. "School on Sunday?"

Vi ducked her head out of a strange flush of embarrassment. "Only until noon."

"Oooh yeah. This is that new school you're sending Onion to, right?" Barb said, pushing Vi's hand towards her. "How's he liking it?"

"He's… enjoying it," said Vi, carefully. "He talks to me a lot about his classmates and teachers. They're good people."

"That's great," said Greg, and everyone chorused their agreement.

There was a brief silence as everyone studied their cards.

"But it's turning out well?" asked Barb. "I know you weren't too sure…"

 _That_ was an understatement. Vi had seriously resisted the idea of sending Onion to a 'special' school, and not just because of the higher price tag. The whole concept grated her. She hadn't exactly been a topnotch student in her day. Had spent practically every moment she could in highschool trying to get out of the place, and usually getting into all kinds of trouble along the way. Last thing she'd wanted was to force Onion into that system until he had to. Kids needed room to express themselves.

But she'd seen the place for herself. No carefully organized rows of desks, no hours of droning lectures, no endless, _pointless_ tests. The place had small class sizes, options to sit in bean bag chairs, lots of art time, and sports outside. Just the type of thing a growing boy needed.

Just the type of thing _Onion_ needed, she was forced to admit. A lot of folks… well, treated him _weird._ And that was unfair. But the teachers at this place were trained, and were trained well. They were teaching him coping mechanisms without forcing him into some tidy box. He got to hang out with other kids, ones that were like him, and he really did seem to be liking it.

Plus, it was keeping Harold from complaining about thievery every other week, so there was that.

Still, it wasn't the easiest topic for her to talk about, and the others must've seen that, because Barb was quick to steer the conversation. "So how about Steven, then? School holidays in Korea, I assume?"

"Uh, no." Greg shuffled his cards around. "Steven's actually homeschooled."

A few eyebrows shot up around the table.

"Oh?" said Donald. "Don't like the Korean system or something?"

"No, no, nothing like that. We just… weren't sure how well he'd do in a traditional school."

Vi nodded silently as she moved a two of hearts next to a queen. From what she'd seen today, Steven had seemed like a pretty regular kid, friendly and polite. But she also knew that this type of stuff wasn't always immediately obvious.

She wouldn't have poked her nose into it, but she could see how tightly Greg was gripping the cards, could see the tight grimace on his face. Worry. Uncertainty. She'd certainly been there. Putting on a casual tone, she said, "Well, there are other options, ya know. I've got some research I could pass along, if ya want."

"Thanks, Vi." Greg heaved out a sigh. "But… it's more complicated than that."

A brief silence as people played their cards and moved chips around.

"... 'More complicated' how?" asked Barb, never one to beat around the bush.

"It was… It was just something his mother wanted," Greg mumbled into his hands.

Everyone else exchanged glances around the table. None of them had said it aloud, but all of them had been wondering about who Steven's other parent was.

"Cultural thing," Greg added. "Wanted to make sure Steven knew his heritage…"

Nods all around.

"Makes sense," said Donald. "Like how Nanefua made sure the twins took those Akan classes growing up."

It _did_ make sense. But 'sense' didn't match the miserable look on Greg's face. The man took a swig of whiskey, and said, "Look… it's more than that. Steven's Mom— Blue— wasn't just from another country. She was an alien."

"Illegal?" Barb blurted out.

Greg shook his head, and Vi got it.

"You mean literally," said Vi, leaning back in her seat. "Like, an actual space alien."

Greg nodded.

In a lot of places, this woulda been dismissed out of hand as lunacy, especially coming from a guy who had literally made his fortune singing 'bout space. But most places weren't Beach City. They'd had more than their fair share of weird stuff.

"It's the magical ladies, ain't it?" said Barb. "The Crystal whatevers. Is that what they really are? Aliens?"

Greg swallowed another mouthful of alcohol, and buried his face in hands. From there came a muffled, "Yeah."

"I _knew_ it," said Barb, slapping her knee. "You _do_ have a thing with Rose! She's Steven's m—"

Donald gave Barb a warning shove the same second Vi clapped a hand over her mouth.

Barb could be _painfully_ oblivious sometimes.

But Greg didn't respond. Didn't snap at her, didn't correct. His shoulders slumped and he began to shake. Within moments, he was sobbing.

The game was abandoned. Barb, looking chastised, mumbled an apology, and followed Donald's lead in pulling the chairs closer. Vi, who'd never been good at just sitting and listening, got up to make tea, to feel useful. Greg spilled out a story, and when he finally finished his glass of whiskey, Vi was there to push a hot mug of earl gray into his hands.

The details were pretty hard to believe. Not the part about dating an alien, really, or the stuff about some ancient magical war. That made sense enough. The basics of that were in practically every world religion, and while folks tried to keep away from the dangerous ruins that littered the planet, everyone knew about the strange art on their walls depicting massive battles.

It was just the personal details that were so… so _shocking_. Rebellion, assassination, slavery. It was the kind of story you'd expect from TV or a thousand-page epic.

But it was coming from a middle aged man, face stained with tears and snot, barely able to make it through a full coherent sentence.

"I jus'... don't know what to do, what to _think_ ," Greg slurred. "Blue… I loved her. I _still_ love her. How— how horrible is that? How me-messed _up_?"

Vidalia played with the end of her tea bag. "I don't think it's messed up." She'd been thinking about some of the guys she'd dated back in the day— some of them had been real nasty pieces of work. She looked up from her cup. "This kind of stuff… it doesn't always make logical sense. You can love someone, even if they were terrible to you."

Greg clearly recognised what she was referring to— she'd told them all some of the stories at some point. Guys who'd been too controlling, who'd used her for money, pressured her into stuff she didn't want.

He shook his head. "No, It's… it wasn't like that, Vi." Running a hand through his hair, he said, "Look, I'm not going to say Blue was the perfect partner… she made mistakes. But she _tried_. Really, really hard. She never hurt me, or forced me into things or kept me as a— as a—" His voice caught. "Slave.

"But she did that to _other people_. That, an'... an' maybe a lot worse. It's one thing, forgiving someone for wha' they did to you… but how can I know the stuff she did to others, and still miss her? Still want to talk to her, to _hold_ her…"

There wasn't any way Vi could respond to that but silence.

Donald was the one who broke that silence with a pinched, pained cough. "I— I understand."

Greg looked up at him with bloodshot eyes.

"My wife," Donald said, haltingly, "is not a good person."

 _Is_. Present tense.

Barb reached out and squeezed Donald's hand.

He hardly seemed to notice. His eyes were distant. "She didn't _start_ out that way— or at least, I don't think she did. I've never been able to figure out when she really changed. Guess it was a gradual thing." He gave a hollow laugh. "It's like, that story 'bout the frog in the boiling water, right? I was in denial for a long time. No matter what she did to me, said to me, I told myself things were okay. She was just stressed, angry, I was exaggerating… We could work through it…"

Donald gulped.

"It was when she went after the kids, I realized it had to stop."

Vi hadn't know the Frymans well, back then, but the memories of that time were still painted in her mind, sharp and ugly. The wail of sirens, unusual in Beach City. A woman screaming bloody murder down the boardwalk. Two kids looking more like shadows than anything. The older one with a big, black bruise across his face. Donald holding his sons, shaking, while the police drove away.

She and Yellowtail had brought over a fish casserole a couple days later.

Here and now, in her kitchen, Donald was rubbing his bare ring finger.

"Don," Greg said, "I'm so sorry.'

Donald shook his head. "Don't be. She's locked up for a long time, and good riddance. I'm just saying… Even knowing all that, there are still times where I want her back. Stupid and crazy as that sounds. I miss how she'd sing in the car, or that special poutine she'd make…" He sighed. "If I can still feel that way, even after she hurt our boys, well… I don't think you should be feeling too guilty."

For several long moments, Greg seemed to be at a loss for words. Then he managed to croak out a simple, "Thanks."

Another ugly, painful silence ensued.

"It's… it's not just that, though," said Greg. "It's Pearl."

"The slave," Vi said.

" _Ex_ -slave," Greg stressed.

"Right," Vi said quickly. "Sorry."

Greg waved a hand. "It's fine. Cuz that's the thing. How do I really make sure _she_ knows that she's not a slave? How can I be sure she's not staying with me— with Steven— because she feels ogli— oblig— has to?"

"Tell her?" suggested Barb.

"I _tried_ that," Greg said. "Mucked it up. She just ran away. And since then she's been all… all stiff. I mean— she's always been kinda— kinda formal, but this is different, it's wrong and— _arrrrggggghhh_!"

Barb patted him sympathetically on the shoulder.

Vi took a long sip of her now-lukewarm tea, mulling the words over. "What exactly did ya say to her?"

"Dunno." Greg stared into his untouched mug. "I dunno. Told her it was wrong to be a slave. I wouldn't let 'er. Later, I told her I'd pay her back for all the work she'd done for us. Not sure if any of it stuck."

Vi chewed on her lip. Then, at length, she said, "Sometimes it's not just about… what you say, but how you say it."

Greg blinked at her. "Wha'dya mean?"

"I mean…" Vi fumbled for the words. She wasn't really good at this stuff. Which had always been part of the problem. She was quick tempered, sharp tongued.

And that was fine with adults, who could understand and hold their own. She'd realized that wouldn't work on Onion. If she raised her voice, said something sarcastic, made a cruel comment in the spur of the moment… He wouldn't understand. Apologies could go a long way to fixing things, but it was all the better to not have to apologize in the first place.

Yellowtail was way better at talking with Onion, at getting on his level. But Yellowtail wasn't around a lot of the time. So Vidalia had had to learn how to work around her natural impulse.

"I guess I mean…" she said, "Well, you clearly care for this Pearl chick. A lot. And judging from what you've told us about her life, that's what she really needs right now. So maybe just… tell her what she means to you. No raised voices or anything. Just… from the heart."

Greg blinked at her again, slowly. "That's… good advice. T-thanks Vi."

"No prob."

Greg was crying a little bit again, but this seemed more like the good tears, it seemed.

Vi wasn't really much of a huggy-feely type, but luckily Barb was. She wrapped an arm around Greg's shoulders and squeezed.

"You don't have to be dealing with this stuff alone," she said. "I mean, the fact that you've been trying to figure this all out for fourteen years…"

"I only found out a few days ago," said Greg.

"Yeah, this evil dictator and slave shit," said Barb. "And I can't really offer much help on any of that. But a partner dying? Figuring out how to raise a kid without her? _That_ I get. I sure didn't get through all that on my own, and you don't have to either."

Greg gave her a watery, grateful smile.

There was more discussion then, accompanied with more tea. Talk of hooking Greg up with the grief-group that met every month or so in Ocean Town. About doing some research online about this kinda stuff. About making it clear that he always had some open shoulder to lean on, if he just needed a chance to vent.

But Vi figured that right then, there was one other thing the guy _really_ needed.

"Wanna go throw a shit ton of paint at a blank canvas?" she asked.

Greg stared at her for a moment, then broke into a slightly hysteric smile. "Yes _please_."

* * *

The smell of peppermint was hot and spicy. Pearl savored its scent, just as she savored the warmth of the cup cradled in her hands.

She couldn't remember the last time she had stopped to take in the moment like this. Life had been steadily growing busier, especially in this past week. That wasn't a bad thing, especially with the progress she and the Renegade had been making on the drill, but it did make quiet moments like this few and far in between.

The background of human sounds formed a pleasing symphony— the distant murmurs of other restaurant patrons, the clink of cutlery, the chewing of food. Pearl had always enjoyed dining out, ever since the first time Greg had taken her to a small Korean cafe. Whether it was in a near-empty hole-in-the-wall, or a fast food joint overflowing with the midday rush crowd such as now... She always liked the community of it. The alienness.

Across from her, Greg looked up at her from his nachos. "Pearl… Are you sure there's nothing else I could get you?"

"No, I am quite fine. I do not need to eat, after all," Pearl reminded him gently.

"I didn't really mean food-wise. Though I will order you more tea if you want!" He added quickly, poking a pile of guacamole nervously. "I meant something… bigger. Like what I talked to you about before."

"Ah," Pearl said, something inside her sinking.

She thought that they had gotten past this. Or she had _hoped_ as much, when Greg had invited her out to help run some errands with him. Now it seemed as though that, as well as the suggestion to stop for lunch, had all been a pretense.

Pearl prided herself on how she could keep her expression perfectly neutral at all times— but it seemed perhaps her skill had degraded during her time on Earth. Or perhaps Greg had learned to read her in a way no Courtesan ever could, because he went, "Oh, no, Pearl, please. I'm not trying to upset you."

She clutched her mug tighter.

Greg sighed, heavily. "I'm… sorry. I never wanted… to scare you, or anything."

It was foolish for a Gem to be scared by anything a human could say to them.

… but to say otherwise would be a lie.

"I accept your apology," said Pearl. "And… I apologize, as well. I should have trusted that you would not wish to dispose of me."

"Oh _Pearl_..."

Greg was staring at her quite peculiarly, and she could not even begin to decode all the emotions on his face.

"I'm never going to... _dispose_ of you, Pearl. I promise." He smiled, a slight tremble to his lip. "You're _family_ , Pearl. You're like a _sister_ to me."

This, if Pearl understood human culture correctly, was very high praise indeed.

She bowed her head, and blinked rapidly.

"Thank you," she whispered.

She took a few moments to collect herself, and managed to look up. She found that Greg was still staring at her, as though he still had something left to say.

Pearl reached out, and laid her cool hand on top of his soft, warm one.

"I care for you very much as well," Pearl said, and squeezed.

Greg smiled at her. "So… Remember. Family looks after family. And if there's ever anything you need…"

"I will tell you," she said, and did her best to mean it. "But for now, eat. Your food will go cold."

Greg gave a short, scratchy laugh, and it was a beautiful thing to hear.

* * *

Blue.

An endless expanse of it. The grey of the seafloor, the dark depths of the ocean, the shimmering veil of light that was the surface…

Lapis simply floated there, taking it all in.

Since being released from the mirror, she'd had the chance to swim through the oceans a number of times, but never once had she stopped to appreciate them. Her mind had been too entirely focused on Steven, on finding him, on watching the Crystal Gems and ensuring that she wasn't noticed.

But that threat was gone, and now she was able to take it all in. It reminded her of when she'd first arrived on Earth, oh so long ago. Her mouth dropping open when she'd spotted the planet, a sphere of blue and white spinning in the void. Shaking her head in sheer amazement when her overseer told her seventy-percent of its surface was covered in water. Being so impatient that she couldn't even wait for the ship's captain to obtain landing coordinates, and just flying to the planet herself, relishing the burn of the oxygen atmosphere against her skin as she'd plummeted towards the massive ocean below...

Oh, if only she'd known what was in store for her.

She let her fists unclench, let the water run through her fingers. It was okay, it was okay. She was free now— free from the mirror and surrounded by water and beauty—and it was all thanks to Steven.

Lapis glanced up, and there he was, eyes hidden behind goggles and cheeks puffed out from holding his breath, waving at her.

She smiled, and with a single flick of her wings, propelled herself up to him.

They burst out into the surface together, Steven gripping onto her forearm to help stay afloat.

"Do you like it?" he asked eagerly.

"I love it," she said, and meant it.

"I knew it!" In his enthusiasm, he slapped the surface, sending up a spray of water. Lapis giggled as it hit her face. "What's your favourite thing down there?"

"You mean, besides the water?"

"Yeah! Like, the coral and the animals and stuff!"

Frankly, Lapis had hardly been paying attention to any of that. Now she dived back under, just to get another look— and yes, it was beautiful, too, in a strange and alien way. Long green growths waving in the currents, schools of silvery fish, creatures which scuttled along the seafloor on many legs, bigger shelled creatures that swam leisurely through the open water… Even without hydrokinesis, they were all as at home in the water as any Lapis Lazuli.

Lapis made sure to return to the surface often, both not to leave her Diamond alone and to listen to his excited explanations about each animal. It was amazing just how much he knew about them.

"I've just read about them in books and seen them on TV," he said, "but this is the first time I've ever been so close."

She felt really stupid and selfish then.

"What are you doing?" Steven asked, as Lapis summoned a huge wave to rise above his head.

"You'll see!"

The wave crashed over him.

But didn't touch him. Instead, it formed a sphere of air around him, a bubble. Steven stared at her, eyes wide, as she willed the bubble to sink beneath the surface. Deeper and deeper and deeper, right into one of those fish schools, which darted around in startled confusion.

Lapis stuck her head into the bubble, grinning broadly. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!"

Keeping a bubble of air suspended in water was much more difficult than the opposite. Lapis had to focus so it didn't dissolve into a dozen smaller bubbles streaming upwards, or so that Steven didn't just sink through the air-pocket's floor. It was a bit of a challenge, requiring more finesse than brute power, but one she relished.

It gave her and Steven the freedom to explore as they pleased. Lapis could bring him near any plant or animal he wanted (or almost any, since a lot of the animals had a tendency to swim away). He could reach out a hand to pet them, or she could stick a head in to listen to him ramble about their diets, their lifespan, what they'd evolved from…

Then out of the ocean came the most curious clicking and squeaking noises.

Lapis spun around just in time to see the animals approach. Nearly a dozen of them, almost all larger than herself, sleek and grey and gliding through the water, _right at them_ —

Were they dangerous? Steven said some animals ate humans! She balled her fists, preparing to destroy them if necessary.

 _"Dolphins!"_ Steven yelled, grabbing her hand and flashing the biggest of smiles. "Lapis, look! Dolphins!"

Most of the underwater animals kept away from them, but not these so-called dolphins. They swam in eager circles around them, poking their heads into Steven's air-bubble before dashing away, letting out a series of shrieks that even to Lapis, sounded confused and excited. They practically turned the water white, with how quickly they swam around the pair of Gems. It was dizzying.

"Can you understand them?" Lapis said, sticking her head back in the bubble, fighting to sound calm.

"Yeah!" said Steven. "Really, really clearly! Pretty much as well as any Gem or human!"

She lashed her wings. "What are they saying?"

"All sorts of stuff." He laid his ear against the side of the bubble, and his eyes went glassy as he tried to process all the cries and shrieks. "They're saying... They're saying it's so cool, how we carry our air, and they want us to try to teach them." Lapis giggled. "One of them, he's really young, I think, wants to play with me, and a bunch of others say you sound weird—"

"I _sound_ weird?"

Steven nodded. "Yeah. They don't mean like, your voice. They're talking about your body, I think. It's not like other animals'. Because they can... they call it 'sound seeing', we call it echolocation—"

"Oh," said Lapis. The sound waves they released with their shrieks were bouncing off her body, showing just how different it was from the squishy, fleshy, organ-filled sacks of every other living being they must have previously encountered. For the first time, she really wished that she had Steven's omnilingualism, so she could explain this for herself. Instead, all she could ask was for Steven to relay it.

"Can't," he said, shaking his head. "My voice— it gets all muffled by the water, they barely understand anything I say…"

He seemed genuinely put-out by this, though the set-back wasn't enough to dampen either his or the dolphins' enthusiasm for each other. The situation was solved soon enough, regardless. Steven's air bubble was getting too low on oxygen and too high on carbon dioxide, so a return to the surface was necessary. By happy coincidence, it seemed that dolphins needed to breathe air as well, so they came with the Gems. Up there, Steven and the animals could communicate freely.

(Lapis couldn't help but wonder, however, what kind of creatures would choose to live in a place that would cause them to die if they couldn't get out of it fast enough.)

The dolphins would each nose at him, poking him curiously, something Steven didn't seem to mind at all. He was a good swimmer, but he was also quite content to wrap an arm around a fin and let the animal support him as they chatted.

Lapis, with much hesitation, asked Steven if it would be okay for her to touch them. Steven relayed the question and said it would be fine. She tentatively stroked the nearest animal.

It felt… well, she couldn't say, 'nothing like she'd been expecting', because she wasn't sure what she'd been expecting. Surely nothing like a human. It was almost more like the texture of a _Gem's_ skin than anything. Very smooth and hard. Not hard like a rock, but a material humans called 'rubber', which had a little bit of give to it. It was a rather pleasant sensation, and Lapis couldn't help but poke at it.

The dolphin poked her back, startling a laugh out of her.

Steven was so caught up communicating with his new friends, and Lapis in watching them, that none of them noticed someone else had arrived to join them.

Rose Quartz.

"Oh, what's this?" she exclaimed, as the dolphins tittered around her. "I saw you all swimming off the coast and I just _had_ to come and investigate."

"Dolphins," said Lapis, flatly.

"Hey Rose," said Steven a bit more politely, but with nothing near to the same enthusiasm he had when talking to animals. "Um, yep, these are dolphins. This one is Eq'qu'lik, and she's Eeeeee!rik, and he's S'ree—"

"Oh, so you can understand them as well? What are they saying?"

Steven, at least, was quite content to talk about this. He spoke at length about what the dolphins were telling him, occasionally quoting them directly: About which areas had the most fish and how they migrated based on the seasons. About how they liked humans, but disliked their boats, which were loud and could sometimes hurt them. About how most humans didn't understand them no matter how clearly they explained themselves, and just how refreshing it was to speak with one who had working ears and perhaps he could do something about all those things that kept being dumped into the water.

Lapis only half listened. She kept her eyes trained on Rose Quartz.

Not that she could do anything out here, surrounded by water and without her sword.

Then Steven said that Eq'qu'lik had offered to take him for a swim underwater. Lapis could hardly tell her Diamond 'no', especially not when he promised he wouldn't go far and gave her the biggest, most pleading eyes ever.

But she was not happy when he disappeared beneath the waves, leaving her behind with the Crystal Gem leader.

The two of them floated in the water, in strained silence.

After a few moments, Rose Quartz asked, "I understand your gem was cracked, Lapis Lazuli. How is it now?"

"Fine," said Lapis. _No thanks to you._

"If you like, I could take a look at it. My fountain can sometimes be less effective than application of fresh tears, I'd be more than happy to address any chips that might—"

"I said it's _fine_ ," Lapis Lazuli snapped.

"Ah," said Rose Quartz, looking down at the water.

Another long silence.

"I am quite sorry," Rose Quartz said.

Lapis Lazuli wasn't sure what she would say to that, and was thankfully saved by Steven and the dolphin's return only moments later.

The dolphins couldn't stay much longer, Steven explained: they still needed to feed for that day. The sun was getting low in the sky, which allowed Lapis to make an excuse of their own: Steven needed to eat. Technically, his 'dinner time' was still a fair ways away, but Steven made no remark on it, and Rose Quartz accepted this with a smile, and a "Perhaps we could do this again sometime."

"Y-yeah," Steven stammered.

Lapis said nothing.

She picked Steven up in her arms, and summoned a swift wave for them to ride back to shore. Even once they reached there, Steven complained that he was tired, so Lapis happily carried him. He was a warm, satisfying weight, the regular pattern of his breathing soothing.

While she had no intention of returning to the ocean with Rose Quartz, the time before that had certainly been enjoyable. She'd love to go swimming with Steven again. And Pearl too, if she could be dragged away from the drill. She'd probably find the corals beautiful…

"Hey Lapis?" Seven said, as they approached the van.

"Hm?"

"Are there oceans on other planets?"

"Few as big as this one, but yeah."

"Could you tell me about them?"

"Of course…."

 **oOo**

 **Authors' Note:** The backstory for Ms. Fryman was borrowed from the collective minds of CoreyWW, BarracudaHeart and TheLoneFryman. If you want more of an exploration of that stuff, we encourage you to check out their work.


	28. Lessons

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Lessons**

Lars moved around the kitchen, cradling the bowl full of mixed ingredients and trying to remember where he placed the bag of ube powder. Before he could remember that he placed it on top of the microwave, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, followed by its electronic-sounding ringtone.

He fished the phone out of his pocket, still cradling the bowl in the crook of his arm, and answered it with a terse "Hello?"

"Where are you?" It was Sadie on the other end, sounding more than a little angry.

"Home," Lars answered simply, setting the bowl down so he could continue his search for the ube powder.

"Home!? What are you doing there? We have work today!"

Lars grabbed the wayward bag from the microwave top and opened it, pouring it into the bowl. "I'm taking a personal day."

"It would have been nice to know about that _before_ the morning rush, Lars…" Sadie intoned.

Lars held the phone to his ear with his shoulder as he picked the bowl back up and started to stir the mix in. "I had a brilliant idea earlier on what I should enter into the art contest."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"It's, er, nothing."

There was a brief pause, before Sadie said in return, "But you still need the day off, right?"

Lars dipped his pinky into the mix, testing its thickness. "Yeah."

There was a sigh on the other end of the phone, followed by the familiar ring of the shop's front door. "Fine. Just- promise me you'll stop this after the stupid contest, alright?"

" _I will_ , geez."

"Okay," Sadie said. "Well, good luck, I guess."

"Yeah, thanks," Lars said before ending the call and sliding the phone back into his pocket. He looked at the bowl of purple mix. "Okay. Just need to get you into the oven and… and maybe I at least won't look stupid in front of Steven Universe…"

* * *

Connie was sitting on the cool stone floor of the Temple's cave, watching a TubeTube video with Steven on his phone, when there was a loud whoosh as the warp pad activated in a beam of light. She sprung to her feet, grinning. "Amethyst! There you are!"

"Yooo!" Amethyst said, waving as she and Pearl fully materialized.

Steven got up, stowing his phone away into his pocket with a frown. "We were supposed to meet up here over an hour ago!"

"Huh?" said Amethyst.

"It is kinda true," said Connie. "We agreed to meet up at noon, and it's already quarter past one."

"Oh." Amethyst shrugged. "Whoops. Musta lost track of time."

"She _was_ on a very important mission," said Pearl, stepping primly off of the warp pad.

"Oh, yeah!" Amethyst grinned ear to ear as she jumped down after her. "Show 'em, Pearl!"

Pearl lightly brushed her hair back. "Well, I hardly think they need to know—"

"Come _on_ , P," Amethyst begged. "We've _gotta_ show 'em."

"Oh, very well." Pearl reluctantly held out her hand. Sitting in her open palm was what looked like a small jewelry box, constructed from a shimmering purplish metal with gilded golden frames. "This is a containment cube. It holds a private pocket dimension, used to store sensitive and valuable objects."

"Wooooooow," Connie breathed, leaning in to get a closer look. "What's inside it?"

"That is what we will be determining," Pearl said, closing her hand back around the cube.

Amethyst slung an arm around Connie's shoulder, pulling her close. "There could be _anything_ in there, Crushed! Spaceship parts! Weapons! Gem shards!" She waved her hand in front of them, emphasizing the possibilities. "Sky's the limit, ya know?"

Connie felt her heartbeat rising with nervous excitement.

Steven's expression matched her own, but he took a step back, rubbing his neck. "That all sounds really interesting but I can't hang around. Pearl said we're having lessons today at 1:30 sharp."

"Ugh, _lessons_ ," Amethyst groaned, rolling her eyes. "Why can't you just have them some other time?"

"I can't. Pearl said that I've missed a lot of lessons lately, and really put her foot down."

"Education _is_ very important," Pearl agreed, nodding along. Connie had to smile: for a moment, the intimidating ancient alien warrior had sounded _so much_ like her mom. "What will today's lessons entail, precisely?"

"I think we're doing physics today, Pearl-ssi," said Steven promptly.

Connie frowned.

"Wait… shouldn't you already know?" she asked Pearl.

Pearl blinked at her. "Pardon?"

Connie's cheeks flushed with heat, but she pushed on. "I mean… shouldn't you already know what Steven's lesson is? Since you're teaching him at 1:30?"

There were baffled looks all around.

"Oh!" said Steven, slapping his forehead. "I don't mean Pearl-ssi, I mean _Pearl_ Pearl."

"Oh," said Connie, doing her best to quickly catch up. "There are two people named Pearl?"

"Something like that," said Pearl tightly, turning away.

Connie wrung her hands, wondering if she'd accidentally said something rude.

"Yeah, there are two Pearls," Amethyst said, "which is getting _really_ confusing. But seriously, Steven, you're gonna bail on us to go learn about how things move?"

"Well, maybe we could join him?" suggested Connie.

The pair blinked at her.

"Really? You want to?" Steven sounded both surprised and pleased.

"Well, yeah! It sounds interesting," Connie said, which was true. She was still curious about how homeschooling worked, especially for someone who was half-alien.

But that wasn't _entirely_ it, either. Part of it was genuine nervousness about the whole 'magic box' thing. Which did sound, really, really cool. But she was also painfully aware that her parents probably wouldn't want her around something that even the Crystal Gems didn't know everything about. Plus, their last foray into the magical had almost ended up with them falling into a lava pit. Near fall into a lava pit aside, Connie hadn't minded the unplanned adventure all too much...

… except that it had also ended with Steven heading off alone, dejected.

Amethyst regarded Steven warily. "What exactly do you… _do_ in this lesson?"

"Oh. Well, lots of stuff!" Steven grinned. "We read books, look at pictures online, make graphs…"

Amethyst gave a huge, exaggerated yawn. " _Thrilling_."

"Oh, come on Ame," Connie said. "At least _try_ it."

"Nah. Don't need to. I'm going to stick with the cool, _interesting_ stuff. If ya wanna join me."

Connie frowned and looked Amethyst directly in the eyes, trying to psychically communicate that they couldn't just _leave_ Steven behind. Connie knew all too well what that felt like.

But Connie was just a human, with no special powers, psychic or otherwise.

"Amethyst! I don't want to delay this any longer!" Pearl called from the Temple door.

"Coming!" Amethyst cried back. She looked back at Connie, frowning slightly, before shrugging. "Catch you guys later, I guess."

"Yeah. I guess," said Connie.

"Bye Amethyst, Pearl-ssi. Good luck!"

The door to the Temple opened, the sound of rushing water echoing out as Connie got a glimpse of something big and blue. Amethyst gave them a wave. Before the door closed, Pearl could just be heard saying, "Maybe it's for the best", and Connie swallowed a sigh.

Steven gave her a tentative smile. Connie smiled back.

Five minutes later, the two of them were in the Universe family RV, sitting at the table while (other) Pearl prepared materials for a second person.

Connie wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it certainly hadn't been a near-identical clone of Crystal Gem Pearl.

Of course it was normal that multiple people to have the same names. It was just basic mathematics. There were three 'Sarahs' in Connie's grade alone. But this was… different. The two Pearls were almost exactly the same, from their figures to their faces to their noses. The only real differences were there clothing, their hair, and their color. While Crystal Gem Pearl could maybe pass for a human, albeit an almost unbelievably pale and thin one, this other Pearl's alienness was as stark as her blue skin.

Were they twins? Sisters? Connie couldn't think of any other way to explain the extreme similarities, but why would someone give both their kids the same name?

No _wonder_ Amethyst said it was confusing.

Connie was so lost in thought that she didn't realize Steven was saying her name, not until he waved a hand in front of her face, startling her. "Huh? Sorry, I missed that."

"Oh! Uh, nevermind—" Steven stammered.

"No, no, go ahead."

"Alright. Um, I was just wondering… why does Amethyst keep calling you 'crushed'?"

"Oh." Connie felt her face go red. "It's a nickname. She gave it to me because the first time we met… well, I kinda got crushed by a bunch of falling rocks."

Steven's eyes went wide. " _What_?"

"It's fine, it's fine!" Connie threw up her hands. "The Gems rescued me, so don't worry, I'm alright. I guess the name just sorta… stuck."

Steven was staring at her, Connie noticed— or not quite her. Her left hand, and the empty space where a finger should be. His brow furrowed, the gears turning in his head. Then he noticed her noticing him, cheeks turning purple. Steven ducked his head, and Connie ducked hers. Neither of them were really sure what to say.

It was a relief when moments later, Pearl sat down at the table with the soft rustle of paper.

"Thank you for joining us, Connie," the Gem said, tipping her head at Connie. "I have never taught two students at once before, so I apologize if the quality of my lessons is low."

"Oh! No, I'm sure you'll be great!" Connie said quickly.

Steven flashed his teacher a thumbs-up. "Yeah, don't worry!"

Pearl gave a small smile. "Very well. Today we will be discussing the topic of gravity, and how to most effectively overcome it."

She opened up a textbook, and Connie was plunged into a world of numbers, figures and equations, at a much, _much_ higher level than anything she'd ever studied in her school's science classes. Higher even than the private extra classes her parents had made her go to in their last city. She felt like she was adrift in a stormy sea, struggling to keep her head above her water.

But… she _enjoyed_ it. She enjoyed the challenge, trying to piece the numbers together, trying to visualize how it all worked.

And when she was struggling (which was often), Pearl or Steven were sure to notice. How couldn't they, when she was the only other person in the RV with them? A lot of kids at school would have gotten impatient, and she was worried Steven might be too… but it never showed. He helped step her through what she didn't understand. And Pearl was a great teacher, for all she had worried otherwise. She spoke slow and soft, but she had a systematic, methodical approach which laid all the numbers out clearly in Connie's mind.

Once they had the theory down, Pearl said it was time to look at how it was applied. She opened another textbook to one filled with diagrams and glossy pictures of UNISA spacecrafts.

"When used correctly, the mathematics we learned today can be used to leave a planet," Pearl explained.

"But this isn't how Gem spaceships work," Steven said, a titch mulishly. "Why aren't we learning about those?"

"Modern Homeworld spacecraft utilize gravity engines and black hole generators, which are currently far beyond either of your levels of knowledge."

Connie leaned in. "Gravity engines? _Black hole generators?_ "

"See? Connie wants to learn about them too!" said Steven. "Black holes are all about gravity. And they're literally named gravity engines, and we're doing a lesson about _gravity_. C'mon Pearl! Please!"

Pearl pressed her hands together. "It will be too difficult. Please, my St— love. Trust me with this."

Steven sighed, deflating like a balloon, and relented. "Fine."

The two of them listened as Pearl explained how rockets were designed, pointing to parts of a diagram with a slender finger. Every once and while, though, Steven's eyebrows would fly up. "They're literally just creating big jets of _fire_!" he exclaimed. "People decided to get into giant cans filled with fuel and make them _explode_! How could anyone wanna go into space so bad enough to risk a fiery death?"

"I could not say," Pearl murmured, and prepared to continue her explanation.

"Well, everyone knew it was really risky," said Connie. "But the astronauts decided it was worth risking their lives to go to the moon."

"But why?" asked Steven. "I mean… the moon is cool and all, but it's really just a big floating chunk of rock."

Connie stared at him, boggled. She knew he'd literally been to the moon, but still, how could he be so _blasé_ about it? "It's the moon! Our planet's only one! The closest part of space near to us? How could we not want to learn everything about it? What's the composition of the rocks? Was it really made from a giant asteroid colliding with Earth billions and billions of years ago? Is there any life there? Is that who built that mysterious spire?"

"Spire?" said Steven. "That's the Moon Base. Gems built it."

Because of _course_ they had.

"That's not the point!" said Connie, pushing down on the myriad of new questions blooming in her brain. "The point is… even though we'd never been to space, humans had always stared up at the stars and wondered about it! So all the countries in the world pooled their resources together, got the very best scientists and mathematicians, and worked together to get us there, no matter the cost!"

Now Steven looked intrigued despite himself. "All the countries on Earth? Really?"

"Well… not all of them," Connie admitted. "But a whole lot! I don't know the exact number, but we can find out!"

Steven already had his phone out and was typing the question into Gaggle. "Eighty-seven!" he announced. "'When the United Nations International Space Agency was first founded in 1965, eight-seven countries joined… wow, Korea was one of them! I had no idea!"

"Thank you very much for the story, Connie," said Pearl. "But we should return to the matter at hand."

"Come on. We've been doing physics for hours!" Steven moaned. With a start, and a glance at the clock, Connie realized he was right— she hadn't realized that much time had passed. Normally, physics lessons felt like they dragged on forever. "We can finish the rest later. I want Connie to teach me about the space program!"

A warm feeling settled deep in Connie's stomach.

"I do not know—" Pearl began, and then froze. And when a Gem froze, they really froze, since they didn't have to breathe. Finally, she said, "This may indeed be something important for Steven to learn. Please, Connie. Continue."

"Uhhhhh, well…" Connie stammered. "I'll be honest… I'm not really an expert. I just know the famous stuff."

"Like what?"

Connie waved a hand. "Oh, you know. 'One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,' that kind of thing."

Steven tilted his head, confused.

"Okay," said Connie. "Okay. Um, well— I know a really good movie we can watch. It's based on the history of the first UNISA flight. I mean, it's not perfect, obviously, I'm sure it's got its own degree of inaccuracies and Kansas-ization, but it won a bunch of awards last year and we have its soundtrack in my parents' car."

"A movie?" said Steven delighted. "What's it called?"

" _Prime Factors_ —"

"Please, Pearl? Can we watch it? Please?"

Again Pearl seemed frozen, but then her face melted in a smile. "Very well. If it is educational."

Steven ran to grab a laptop. As they waited for the film to download, Steven and Pearl sat there, listening to popcorn popping in the background as Connie explained the basic history. It wasn't anything special, but Steven listened to her every word as though it was.

* * *

After the lesson and after Steven had walked Connie back to the bus stop, Steven found himself wandering around town. When he'd returned to the RV, Dad had been on his cellphone, speaking with one of his managers while simultaneously trying to figure out how the device even worked. Pearl had been sitting at the table, watching what looked like some kind of fashion program on the TV on the opposite wall. There were several heavily made-up models walking down the runway, each wearing a more exotic outfit then the last.

Neither of them had seemed like they wanted to be interrupted, so after quickly telling them where he was going, Steven had headed back out. He had a specific goal in mind for this excursion: a new sketchpad. He was still upset (and more than a little annoyed) that he had lost his old one in the lava pit in the Temple. Not only had he lost a lot of drawings, but he had also lost what work he had started on his entry for the library's drawing contest..

Or "work" might have been too strong of a word. What he had were several rough sketches, most of which had been scribbled with words and phrases he put down as possible ideas, but those had mostly been crossed out too.

Steven headed to Main Street— or what passed as one in Beach City, lined as it was with small mom-and-pop businesses. He idly peered into the windows of stores, even those that weren't related to the goal of getting a new sketchbook, as his mind continued to ponder about the competition.

The library hadn't specified a theme in the contest mechanics, but the prize was a full, hardcover set of _The Spirit Morph Saga_. It would make the most sense to have 'magic' as a theme, since magic played a heavy role in the series, and Steven's life had more than its share of literal magic than the average person. It shouldn't be too hard, he'd thought, until the conversation with Connie about the books had tripped him up.

According to her, the books were really about friendship, and how forming relationships with others was one of the most important things in life. But stuff like that...

Steven felt the outline of his gem against his shirt.

Stuff like friendship and forming relationships... wasn't something Steven had much experience with.

He sighed.

He got to the art supplies store. He briefly browsed the shelves full of art materials, before finally selecting a sketchbook very much like the one he'd lost. Similar dark cover, similar bookmark to easily get back to where you last left off, and a similar spiral edge that Steven had always preferred. He paid for the sketchbook, as well as a new set of erasers (the ones he had at the RV were getting worn down). Then he was back to strolling down the street.

He gazed around as he went, trying to find some inspiration for his drawing. In the park, he saw the group of teenagers he'd met at the donut shop. He wasn't sure what they were doing exactly, but they were holding what seemed to be cardboard swords, and were throwing beanbags at each other.

Steven paused and watched them for a moment.

 _Maybe they'd be a good subject for a picture? They're friends and they're… doing something fun together…_

The thought trailed off in Steven's head before he walked on. While the teenagers had been friendly enough when he'd met them, the idea of him just going up and asking if he could draw them felt weird. He barely knew them.

He passed the arcade, his mind still wandering. He glimpsed a little girl laughing and playing air hockey with her moms. The sight brought a small smile to his lips. Maybe he should draw his family. Dad and Pearl... He loved them very much, and there was magic to that.

But it didn't really feel like the magic Connie had described. Sure, both had a lot in common, like sharing burdens with each other and overcoming great struggles together. But the magic in the books seemed to be more about meeting _new_ people and forming personal bonds with them. Like finding family in people you're not related to. Relationships forged in fire. It was like what that famous quote said: 'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.'

And as much as Steven loved Dad and Pearl, he knew they didn't exactly fit with _that_ kind of magic.

He sighed again as he made his way back to the car wash. When he arrived, he found Dad sitting outside on a folding chair, an empty seat beside him. He was idly strumming on his guitar, pausing every few seconds to tune it.

"Hey, bud!" Dad greeted when he looked up and saw Steven. He waved his son over. Steven smiled. "Perfect timing. Pearl left a while ago to spend some time with Lapis, so I was starting to get lonely." Dad gestured to the empty seat. "Why don't ya take a load off with your old man?"

Steven did so, resting his sketchbook and erasers in his lap. He then kicked his shoes off and pulled his socks off, mirroring his dad's barefoot look. The cool breeze through his toes felt nice and relaxing.

"I see ya got a new sketchbook," Dad said, beginning to strum a simple tune on his guitar. "Found the art shop in town, I take it?"

"Yeah. I did."

"How was it? Pretty nice?"

"It was good. They didn't have as much stuff as the art supply shop in Damyang. Or Seoul."

"Not really surprising. Beach City is a pretty small place. Most people probably only see it as a vacation spot." Dad paused, continuing the ditty on his guitar before going on, "Still, it's a nice town. Had things been different, I wouldn't have really minded settling down here, even." He stopped playing and looked over at Steven. "What do you think, schtooball?"

Steven shrugged silently. He didn't want to say that he still missed mountain side and Palanquin. And he especially missed the apartment in Seoul.

"Something wrong, Steven?"

Steven hesitated before answering. "Just… trying to decide what I want to draw for the contest."

"Oh yeah. That one at the library, right?" Steven nodded. Dad looked curious. "Hmm… Well, do you have any ideas?"

"I was thinking of something magical, like an experience or something," Steven said. "But I guess it's been a little light on magic lately…"

Dad sighed, put his guitar on the ground next to him, and leaned over. He wrapped an arm around Steven's shoulder and gave a little squeeze. "Yeah, I know what you mean, bud. Still, it's not so bad, right? I mean, the Crystal Gems are... getting friendlier. And sure, we went through some turmoil with Pearl, but we're all getting better there. Even Lapis is settling in pretty good, right?"

"I guess…" Steven replied.

"My suggestion? Just think about the best thing that's happened to you, that you can really remember. You'll probably find some magic there."

"Okay, Dad." Steven nodded. "I'll—"

He cut off suddenly, a thought shooting through him like a bolt of lightning. And not sadness lightning, either.

"Something wrong, bud?"

"No, just… a thought," Steven said. "About the contest…"

In truth, an idea for a drawing was already unfolding in his mind. He'd have to go back into town to get some references, but…

"Are you going back in soon, Dad?" Steven asked.

"Wasn't planning on it."

"Good," Steven smiled. "How about some music? You can let me listen to your latest song and I'll tell you about my drawing idea?"

"Well, with an offer like that..." Greg chuckled as he bent over to pick the guitar back off the ground and began strumming. "Let's see if I can scrounge something up…"

* * *

If Lapis were being totally honest, she'd say she had never actually enjoyed working on the drill.

Not to say that she hated it. After having been trapped for so long, it felt good to have a job to do, something that let her move around and work her physical form to be productive, even if it was something she'd never been made for. Sure, the physics involved was confusing and the mathematics was utterly beyond her, but working together with Pearl seemed a worthwhile use of her time.

Although... it had been difficult, at times. The handiwork was fiddly, human tools didn't always make sense, and sometimes she needed to be incredibly precise with her water powers. Still, Lapis tried to help out as much as she could. And after all the nights she had spent working on it, she believed she understood enough of the drill's mechanics to be able to help with some of the more-involved, non-mundane tasks.

But then, Other Pearl— White Pearl— had looked at the plans for ten minutes, and seemed to know everything inside out.

When Lapis had arrived with Pearl for that night's work session, they discovered just how much White Pearl had achieved that day. A whole extra two drill legs had been built onto the main control carapace, with a third well on its way to being completed.

"Excellent progress," Pearl remarked.

White Pearl's head popped out of whatever cavity she'd been working inside of, her cheeks smudged with some grease.

"Yes. It is, isn't it?" she said, looking incredibly smug.

Lapis resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Soon they all went about their tasks for the night. Lapis tried to help, as she always did, but found herself being less-than-useful. Whenever she went to do something— adjust a screw, fetch a part, solder some circuitry— she found that White Pearl had already got to it before her. It wasn't long before she ended up leaning against the Kindergarten's wall with a water razor, methodically cutting out set lengths of shrink tubes, of all things.

Across from her, the Pearls were poring over the plans and discussing something at length. Probably trying to figure out what was making the gravity drive leak, or why the control panel kept fritzing, or whatever other thing related to the drill's inner workings.

Not that Lapis cared.

"Nice view."

Lapis turned her head to glare at the source of the interruption. "What?"

Garnet just grinned in reply.

Lapis rolled her eyes and turned away. She didn't appreciate the underlying quality she saw in the fusion's grin. It was more of a knowing smirk than anything else, and the longer she felt it directed at herself, the more she felt a strange heat going to her face... until she couldn't take it anymore.

"What are you doing here?" Lapis bit out. "What do you want?"

"I'm bending bars," Garnet replied. In demonstration, she picked up a length of steel from a nearby pile, then bent it in a single swift motion.

"Wow. Spectacular." Lapis flatly said.

"Yes."

Shaking her head, Lapis resumed cutting her shrink tubes while Garnet bent metal bars beside her.

Stuff of legends, it was not.

Eventually, Garnet got to the last of the pile. Lapis watched her go inform White Pearl, who was elbow-deep in the drill's main engine while Pearl tinkered underneath it. White Pearl absently thanked the fusion before going back to whatever she and Pearl were doing. Something probably went wrong in their task because a dark liquid suddenly poured all over Pearl. Lapis flared her water wings and was just about to launch towards them when Pearl slid out from under the engine, wiping the offending liquid from her face and telling White Pearl about what had happened. She didn't seem hurt or anything, and she looked completely focused on what she was working on.

Frowning, Lapis dismissed her wings and returned to her own task.

"I can help with that," Garnet said, interrupting her thoughts. Lapis hadn't noticed when she had come back.

"I'm handling it," she said, just a hair sharply as she cut another piece of tube. "Why don't you go and do... whatever it is you fusions like to do."

"I like to help."

Lapis stared at her for a long, hard moment. When the fusion didn't move even the slightest, she muttered, "Fine," and cut off a length of the tube, handing it over. She enjoyed a moment of petty satisfaction from knowing that Garnet didn't have a tool for cutting, but that was quickly dashed when Garnet easily shapeshifted her fingers into a pair of scissors.

They cut in silence, punctuated only by the sounds of their snipping and the clang of tools at the distance. The moon had risen high in the sky before someone finally spoke up.

"So," Garnet started, "you want to save the Earth."

"Not really," Lapis muttered before she could stop herself. She glanced at Garnet, but the fusion seemed to be simply waiting for her to continue. Shrugging, Lapis decided to oblige. She was getting bored of the repetitive task anyway. Might as well make some small talk. "I hate everything about this planet."

A long beat followed. Then...

"There must be something you like."

"I dunno." Lapis stopped her water razor mid-cut, pondering. "The oceans are nice, I guess."

"Hmm."

"What about you? What do you like about this place?"

Garnet paused in her work, too. She seemed to be carefully considering her answer.

Finally, she said, "Frogs."

"What's that?"

"Amphibian lifeforms. They live on land and in water."

"That doesn't sound like anything special," said Lapis, resuming at her task.

Garnet shrugged and followed suit. "Most Earth lifeforms either live on land or in water. Frogs are free to live in both."

"Is that all that's great about them?"

Another long moment of consideration. "They also have long tongues."

Lapis stared, scrutinizing, unsure if the fusion was being serious or not. But the fusion was unreadable, and Lapis couldn't help wondering if frogs were truly a cause worth fighting for.

oOo

 **Authors' Note:** Big thanks for TheMarkovProperty for coming up with the 'Prime Factors' pun in our attempt to create a 'Hidden Figures' parallel for the SU-verse


	29. Prize

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Prize**

It was loud in the library.

That just seemed wrong. Libraries were meant to be quiet. Lars hated it. Hated the rows and rows of chairs filled with people, waiting, and waiting, to see all the pictures and evaluate them and judge them and-

Lars ducked behind the nearest bookcase, and sucked in a big breath of air.

Why had he even signed up for this stupid contest in the first place? Why had he wasted hours of his life scrawling stupid, ugly stick figures? Why had he worked for hours and hours making a multi-tiered cake that nobody would even get to eat? What kind of freaks would even care about a picture of a cake?

Then again, what kind of freaks would bother gathering in a public library for some stupid amateur kids' art contest for some stupid kids' book anyway?

His head thudded painfully into the shelf.

He could still leave. There was still time. He didn't have to be stuck here, like some loser-

"Alright, everybody," said some woman at the front of the makeshift stage area. "We'll be beginning in just a few moments, so if you could all take your seats…"

Lars blanched. If he left now, he'd stick out like a sore thumb. Everyone would notice. Steven would notice. He was sitting there in the second row, looking confident as anything…

He bit back a moan, and turned back.

Whatever. He could just… sit here and wait. No big problem. Whatever. Didn't matter.

* * *

Connie really enjoyed libraries.

Admittedly, on a scale of surprising facts, that was probably pretty low on the list. But it was still true. It wasn't just the books, although that was obviously a very strong pull, but it was also the calm, quiet atmosphere. Almost like she could get lost in between the rows of bookshelves and that would be perfectly alright.

Now though, while Connie wouldn't exactly call the library loud, it was certainly loud _er_ than it usually was. More crowded as well. Almost the entire center of the library's main building was full of contestants, spectators, or judges.

"A real turn out huh, Crushed?" Amethyst asked. She was leaning back in her chair, balancing it on its hind legs, much to the annoyance of the people sitting behind her. She shrugged before continuing, "I mean, ya know... Not gonna knock on anyone's hobby or nothin', but I'm still kinda surprised so many people showed up just for this."

Connie wasn't. Her eyes flicked to the center figure at the judges' table and reminded herself that this wasn't _just_ another art contest. One of the judges was _the_ Theresa Buddwick, the author of the _Spirit Morph Saga_ and one of the greatest people on Earth.

Honestly, Connie was surprised there weren't _more_ people. Stars knew if she could work up the courage, she'd be further up front.

But as it was, she and Amethyst were around the middle area, a little off to the side so they were still visible from the front, if you were looking for them. Which was good. Steven was standing near the judges' table with the other contestants. Even from the distance, Connie could tell he was nervous. The fidgeting, the shifting from foot to foot. It was all very familiar to her. What was less familiar was when Steven would look over his shoulder at the two them and offer a small smile, one that Conne would always offer back.

She hoped Steven did well. He was a good artist. Great, even. He certainly deserved it.

Connie heard tapping over the PA system. At the podium, the Head Librarian was adjusting the microphone, as the other judges gathered around their table. Behind them was a movable wall, all plastered with the artworks that had been entered into the contest.

"If everyone would give us their attention, please." The librarian's voice came through the speakers placed in front of the table, quieting the crowd. "Before we announce the runner-ups and the winner, we'd first like to thank our special guest, Ms. Theresa Buddwick for joining us today."

Applause started from the crowd, and Ms. Buddwick smiled and nodded kindly. Connie made sure she was among the last to stop clapping.

"Now then," the librarian continued with a knowing smirk, "since that seems to be why most of you are here, let me turn over the time to our guest of honor."

She stepped aside and Ms. Buddwick made her way to the microphone, another round of applause following her.

"Thank you, Mx. Gonzalo," she said. "And thank all of you for coming out today, either to show off your own little spark of magic or to encourage it in our fine contestants." More applause, though it didn't last long as Ms. Buddwick held up a hand, silencing the crowd. "And make no mistake, that magical spark is worth encouraging when it's lit. After all, mine was lit when I was a little girl, listening to the stories of my great-great-great-great grandfather's travels around the world."

She indicated the large portrait hanging above the bookshelves along the side wall. The portrait was of a middle-aged man, balding, bespectacled, and mustachioed. Connie wasn't sure who that was, exactly. She made a mental note to ask Amethyst later if she had any idea.

"But enough with the foreword," Ms. Buddwick said with a bit of a wry smile. "I think it's time we get down to why everyone is here."

Connie looked over at Steven, who was messing with the zipper of his hoodie. The pressure must be building. Connie silently wished Steven good luck.

"First, we want to take the time to thank everyone who participated. There were so many submissions that we didn't have room to put them all on the board!" She laughed a little. "It takes a great deal of courage to put your creations on display. To show a secret part of yourself to the world. It's that bravery, _that_ creative spirit, that is needed to create the books which fill libraries like this…"

She continued on with the opening speech… which, admittedly, was dragging on a bit too much. A few of the younger kids in the crowd were starting to mutter and fidget, and there was a loud smacking sound coming from-

"Amethyst!" Connie hissed.

"Wha?" Amethyst asked through a full mouth of _something_.

"What are you eating?"

"Gum."

"Where did you even get any gum?"

"From the bottom of the chair," Amethyst said, her arm already lengthening to reach back under. "Want some?"

"No!" It came out too loud. People were glaring at them. Connie fought the urge to just melt into the carpet. She whispered, "Just- be _quiet_!"

" _Ugh_. Why?"

"Because _Theresa Buddwick_ is talking-"

"Yeah, about a lot of nothing," Amethyst said, miming a mouth with her hand. A mouth with shape-shifted lips. "I thought we were here to see Steven's art or something, not listen to some old lady ramble-"

Connie clapped a hand over Amethyst's mouth.

By then, Ms. Buddwick had moved on to highlighting some of the pieces on display, and thankfully, most of the people around them had turned their attention back to the front. Amethyst squirmed under Connie's grasp, but finally settled down. She gave Connie a mullish look when the girl let go of her.

Connie would have to give Amethyst a talk about basic human manners after. For now, she was determined to pay attention to the highlighted art. There was one in crayon, clearly drawn by a toddler with no chance of winning, but was nonetheless adorable. Ms. Buddwick also pointed out some pretty photography, a redraw of a famous book cover, and a cute little anime-style comic. But it was clearly all just build up for the main event.

"Now then," Ms. Buddwick said, taking the microphone off its stand so she could step aside and give everyone a better look at the wall of entries. "Our first runner up: George Rivas, with his entry, 'Dusk before Dawn'."

There was some scattered clapping as the Head Librarian pinned a yellow ribbon on one of the drawings. The boy standing right next to Steven seemed to deflate, though whether with relief or disappointment, Connie couldn't tell.

"Our second runner up is Diana Lewis, with her entry 'Homestead'." Again, the Head Librarian came by and pinned a red ribbon to another of the drawings. Connie saw an older girl (older than herself, anyway) who _did_ look visibly disappointed.

"And our grand prize winner, who will be getting a limited edition set of _The Spirit Morph Saga_ , as well as a special mystery prize is… Steven Universe! With his entry "Magical Meetings'!"

The room erupted in applause. Connie herself was smacking her hands together so hard, they began to sting as she got up to give a standing ovation Meanwhile, Amethyst remained in her chair, although she did join in with her own clapping a few seconds later.

Steven glanced over his shoulder, a look of confused surprise plastered over his face. Connie smiled at him, but before she could get a smile back, Ms. Buddwick spoke again. "Steven? Why don't you come up here so you can accept your prize?"

Steven turned and hesitated before he stiffly made his way to the podium where Ms. Buddwick stood. All the judges congratulated him as he passed by their table, by taking his hand or patting his shoulder or back. Even from this distance, Connie could tell the attention was making Steven uncomfortable.

He made it to the podium and shook one last hand, Ms. Buddwick's, before he was handed what had to be an incredibly heavy, hardcover box set of _The Spirit Morph Saga_. Steven managed to carry it under one of his arms though, as if it weighed nothing.

"Congratulations, Steven," Ms. Buddwick said, "and congratulations to all our contestants!" She looked over to her side, where one of the other judges was pinning a blue ribbon to what Connie assumed was Steven's drawing. "You should all be very proud."

Steven was mumbling something, so Ms. Buddwick held the microphone to him and he repeated himself, "Thank you."

"I must say, Steven. Your choice of subject matter for your drawing was very interesting." She gestured towards the drawing, though Connie still couldn't make it out. "Beach City often feels like a place that has been touched by magic. And one of the places that encapsulates that perfectly is the old beach temple."

Steven looked like he wanted to say something, but another smattering of applause interrupted him as Ms. Buddwick continued, "And your mystery prize, Steven… is a brunch with me."

Connie gasped. Actually _gasped_ out loud.

Brunch. With _Theresa Buddwick_. The writer of one of the greatest book series _ever_.

She could barely imagine it. How could you even focus on eating if given a chance like that? Connie would be so busy asking questions- How did Theresa first get started? Could she call her Theresa? How exactly did she come up with Lisa's character? Was the rumor that Archimedes was originally going to be a parrot true?

She wouldn't be able to ask those questions herself, but Connie was already creating a list to relay to Steven, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Amethyst, pointing up towards the podium. Steven was waving at the pair to come join him.

Him, and _Theresa Buddwick_.

Connie wasn't entirely sure her legs remembered how to work, but thankfully Amethyst was there to help drag her through the dispersing crowd. In a moment, she was there. Standing in front of Theresa Buddwick.

The author greeted her with a warm smile.

"Connie, yes? And who's this?" she asked, turning to Amethyst. "I love your costume!"

"I'm Amethyst. And whaddya mean, costume?"

"The excellent purple skin paint, I mean," said Ms. Buddwick.

"Costume? This ain't a costume. This is my normal color."

"Oh, of course," Ms. Buddwick said with false-seriousness, giving an exaggerated wink. Amethyst snorted.

Before any explanations or corrections could be given, Ms. Buddwick had turned back to Connie. "Steven's told me a little about you. Like you were the one who introduced him to my books."

"Yes, ma'am," Connie replied, trying to sound as natural as she could manage. "I mean, I'd introduce anyone to them. They're- they're very good."

Connie sounded like an idiot. She knew that, but luckily Ms. Buddwick was a kind, merciful woman and just smiled along.

"That's why I wanted to ask you, Connie," Steven said. "I haven't read the books yet, so iIf I went to brunch with Ms. Buddwick, I wouldn't really have anything to talk about. So I wanted to ask if you wanted to go instead?"

Connie could feel her heart hammering against her chest. The chance to go to brunch with Theresa Buddwick and to pick her mind about everything regarding her books… Connie had _literally_ daydreamed about this.

Before Connie could force a response, however, Ms. Buddwick spoke first, "I'll do one better," she said. "Why don't all four of us go to brunch?"

"Oh! Well, I don't want to impose-"

Ms. Buddwick raised her hand, cutting Connie off. "Nonsense," she said. "It's just brunch. Now, are you free tomorrow, Connie?"

"Yes I am!" Connie replied, perhaps a bit too quickly and too enthusiastically than she intended.

"And you, Steven?"

Steven nodded silently.

"Amethyst?"

The Gem blinked. "What, me?"

"Unless you know any other _Amethysts_." Ms. Buddwick laughed.

Amethyst opened her mouth, hesitated, and then said, "Nah. I'm busy."

"Are you sure?" Connie asked. She didn't remember Amethyst saying anything about a mission tomorrow.

"Yeah," said Amethyst flatly. A pink bubble blossomed out of her mouth, then broke with a loud _pop!_

"Oh, well, that's a shame," Ms. Buddwick said. "I'm in town for a couple more days. Maybe we could try the morning after tomorrow, or-"

"No. You guys have fun." Amethyst didn't quite leave, but she did take a few pointed steps backwards.

Connie peered after her, feeling herself a deflate. It would have been so cool to have all her friends at the same table with her favourite author.

Ms. Buddwick had some of the wind knocked out of her sails as well, but she rallied quickly. Smiling again, she said, "Well, in that case, shall we meet here around 9:30? Is that good for both of you?"

Connie and Steven nodded in perfect unison.

"Good. I personally can't wait," Ms. Buddwick said with a kind smile.

 _Neither can I_ , Connie excitedly thought to herself.

The Head Librarian tapped Ms. Buddwick on the shoulder. She nodded at the trio one last time and left them.

Connie's eyes drifted over to the wall where all the art entries were exhibited. While much of the crowd had dispersed, there were still a lot of people milling around and enjoying the art on display.

"Aren't you going to get your drawing?" Connie asked.

Steven shook his head. "Not yet. It's going to be shown off here at the library."

"Geez, ya don't even get your art back?" Amethyst asked, stepping between the two. "That seems kinda lame."

"They're only showing it for a month," Steven said. "After that I can get it back."

Connie nodded along, when she had a somewhat sudden realization. She didn't know _what_ Steven's drawing was. They'd arrived kinda late, and she'd been in such a rush to get a good view of the stage that she hadn't even-

She pursed her lips together, before asking, "Hey, guys? You want to go look at the entries?"

"Oh. Sure, Connie," Steven said, smiling a little. "Yeah, I'd like to see what everyone else came up with."

"Yeah, sounds good, dude," Amethyst added.

The three of them walked over the drawings and Connie was _immediately_ glad she hadn't tried to enter herself. She had thought about it briefly, when she had heard about the contest. It was a _Spirit Morph_ -inspired contest, after all. But even a casual look over the entries showed that, whatever skill Connie might have had, it was _vastly_ overshadowed by the actual artists who had entered.

Connie looked at the entries. They were all rather nice, though beyond that, Connie didn't have much of an opinion. This was a contrast to Steven, who seemed to have something to say about each and every one of them. Whether it was commenting on the coloring, or lamenting that he wished he was able to get this kind of proportions or that kind of shading just right.

Amethyst mimicked Connie, not really having a lot to say aside from a few comments here and there. Connie noticed that Amethyst seemed a bit partial to the more abstract drawings though, a fact that didn't seem that surprising.

Finally, they came to Steven's drawing, the large blue ribbon doing a lot to let it stand out from the others. Connie took off her glasses and reflexively wiped them off on her shirt. She wanted to get as good a look as possible.

The first thing that really struck Connie was the sky. It had a gorgeous layer of clouds, the bright setting sun shining through them, painting the rest of the sky in a wonderful mixture of orange, purple, and red. This contrasted the vibrant blue of the ocean below. At the center of the whole piece, however, was something that reminded her of one of her own favorite places: the docks. Rendered in such loving detail, she could practically feel the grain of the wood, smell the salty wind, hear the boats rocking to and fro...

"This place is from Beach City, right?" Amethyst asked, in between chews of her chair-gum.

Steven nodded silently, and the image clicked in Connie's mind. She checked the drawing again, and indeed she could see the top half of the Temple in the corner, peeking over the cliffside.

"Wow, Steven," Connie said, once she had drunk it in. "It's so beautiful."

Steven shrugged bashfully and looked down at his feet. "Once I settled on what I wanted to draw, it just kinda… flowed out of me."

"Well it flowed pretty well," Amethyst said.

Connie nodded and was about to add some more thoughts when she felt someone bump into her. She straightened her glasses and saw that it was some teenager. One who looked more than a little put out.

"Are you alright?" Connie didn't really know what else to say.

"I'd be better if I didn't have all you _nerds_ in the way," the guy muttered, still trying to push past.

Connie furrowed her brow in annoyance, but Steven cheerfully greeted the teen, "Hey, Lars!"

All color drained out of the teenager's face. He looked mortified.

Steven didn't seem to notice, and just asked, "Where's your entry?"

"I didn't have one. I was just leaving." He spoke hurriedly, and with another slight push, moved past Connie and headed towards the library's exit.

"You know him?" Connie asked.

"Sort of," Steven answered. "He works at the Big Donut. We signed up for the contest together. Or, I thought we did. I guess Lars changed his mind."

Or he'd come here to start trouble, which was Connie's guess. He seemed like _that_ type of teenager. Mom had warned her a lot about them. The kind who would do anything to get a set of eyes on him. Whatever friendly terms Steven thought he was on with him was almost certainly one-sided.

"Hey, if we're all good at looking at the art, how 'bout we bail?" Amethyst said, pointing a thumb over her shoulder. People had started to gather again, both contestants and audience members. And they all seemed to want their own chance to look at the art wall. "I mean, if we stay much longer, we're likely to get swamped."

"Yeah, let's go before that happens," Steven said.

Connie nodded and, with one last look towards the wall and Steven's painting, she followed behind the two of them out of the library, a skip in her step.

* * *

"I _still_ can't believe that was the prize," Connie said as she, Steven and Amethyst sat on the dock, their feet hanging over the edge. "I guess it makes sense for them to keep it a mystery. I mean, if they'd let people know, they probably would have gotten thousands and thousands of submissions. After all, who _wouldn't_ want the chance to have a real conversation with Theresa Buddwick?"

"Someone who hasn't read her books yet?" Steven said with a lopsided smile. Amethyst snickered.

Connie giggled. "Right. Good point." She paused a moment, before saying, "I'm going to have to spend all evening coming up with questions to ask her. I mean, there's so much I want to ask her, but… well I don't want to spoil anything for you."

"I'll go to the bathroom if you want to ask anything super important," Steven said, with mock seriousness.

Connie grinned. "Well, you might be trapped in there for a while…"

"I'll bring a book to read." Steven pulled on the straps of his backpack, where he'd stored his shiny new hardcover book set. "I think I might be able to find _something_ to read…"

"Enough yammering about boring ol' books," Amethyst said, elbowing Steven in the stomach hard enough to make him wince. "I'm just glad you won. "Ya really blew 'em out of the water with yer art."

Steven's smile wavered a little. "Yeah. I guess."

"Is something wrong?" Connie asked.

"Yeah. Ya got the blue ribbon and the books. Isn't that the point?" Amethyst added.

"I guess," Steven repeated. "It's just... nothing."

"Alright. So, both ya taken tomorrow morn-"

"No, what is it, Steven," Connie broke in. "It's okay. You can tell us."

Steven shrugged. "It's just… I dunno. I guess I feel like the judges missed the point of my drawing."

"Missed the point?" Amethyst cocked her head to the side. "How do ya miss the point of a drawing? It's all right there."

"Well, they thought the point of the drawing was the Temple. But I was just using that as part of the background. It wasn't the focus."

"So what was the focus?" Connie asked.

"It's, well... I wanted to do something… like magical, you know?" Steven was stammering over his words, a blue blush rising from his cheeks.

"Well, the Temple is pretty magical." Amethyst puffed out her chest, as if to display her gem.

"Well, yeah, but..." said Steven, "Actually, I drew the docks."

Connie blinked at him while Amethyst provided the question, "The docks? I dunno what kind of magic stuff you've seen before, dude, but the docks ain't really that magical."

But Steven shook his head and focused down at his feat. "It's not just the docks. It's... I mean…" He trailed off and was quiet for a few seconds before he began again. "That day was so _terrible_. Everything I learned about Pearl and… and about Mom… But it was also a good day too." He looked up at Connie. "It was also the day _we_ met. There, under the docks."

Connie could feel her face warm underneath those two bright blue eyes. Steven blinked and then looked away. "That's why the drawings name was 'Magical Meeting'. 'Cause it's… where I met you."

"Steven- I-" Connie tried her best to form a coherent sentence, but talking seemed a bit beyond her at the moment.

"Well why didn't ya just leave the Temple out?" Amethyst asked with a shrug.

"It was a landscape drawing. I couldn't just cut the Temple out and put some weird void in the background," Steven answered. "And besides… How was I supposed to know everyone was going to miss the point?"

"Oh, Steven…" Connie said, finally getting control over her words again. "I- I'm sorry the judges missed the point of the drawing. But… the docks were really the focus? Because they were our first meeting spot?"

Steven nodded. "I mean… you're kinda my first friend, Connie," he said. "Or, at least my first non-animal friend. And… I like you. A lot."

"Oh," Connie said simply, feeling like her face was about to catch fire. "I… I like you you a lot too, Steven."

A moment of silence held between them, both of them just looking at each other, the only sound being the waves lapping against the shore. Connie felt like she wanted to say something and Steven _looked_ like he was trying to find something to say too, but neither of them spoke.

"Yeeaah, not to break this up or anything," Amethyst said dryly, "but, Crushed. We had plans for after the contest, yeah?"

"Oh!" Connie blinked, her thoughts being brought back to the present. "Right, we do. Steven, do you want to tag along?"

Connie saw Amethyst shift around, as if she was going to speak, but Steven spoke first, "No, it's alright. I need to get back to the RV. I've got lessons."

"If you're sure, dude," Amethyst said very hastily, before grabbing Connie by the shoulder and beginning to pull her away. "C'mon, Crushed. Got this cool tower in the middle of the ocean we can scope out."

"Yeah, okay. I'm coming, Ame," Connie said. She looked back over at Steven and paused, before saying, "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow for brunch, Steven."

"Yeah, we will." Steven waved as Connie felt herself getting pulled away at Amethyst's behest. "I'll see you tomorrow, Connie."

"Yeah, see you," Connie said.

She could barely stand to wait.


	30. Advice

**Chapter Thirty: Advice**

The afternoon sun was shining down on Steven and Connie as they walked along the street while Connie tried to metaphorically dig her way out of a rapidly deepening hole.

"So it's really only a spoiler _after_ you read it in the story. If that makes sense."

"Uh, sure," Steven said, tilting his head to the side and giving her a wry smile.

Connie laughed, forcing her to suppress a burp. She'd eaten a bit more at brunch than she should have. Her excitement had gotten away from her, and in the flurry of questions she was asking Ms. Buddwick, she hadn't realized she was getting full until she was already _completely_ stuffed.

Steven was pretty stuffed too, based on the way he kept fiddling with the waistline of his trousers. He'd shown up wearing a full blown tuxedo, which had made Connie feel hopelessly underdressed in her nice-but-fairly-plain sundress. It had been a huge relief when Ms. Buddwick had shown up in jeans.

They stopped at a crosswalk, waiting to make sure the street was clear before crossing. Connie could hear the ocean in the distance. "Well, one _possible_ , really small spoiler aside, I think it went really great."

"Yeah! It did!" Steven enthusiastically agreed. "Had a good meal with good friends- er, friend. Dad always says that's one of the best ways to spend a day."

Maybe it was 'friends' plural, though. Ms. Buddwick— no, Theresa, she'd insisted— had been just as funny and clever and kind as Connie had always dreamed. But then, they'd only known each other for a few hours, and she was an adult, so maybe that didn't count.

One day, though. Maybe after Connie had published her own award-winning young adult trilogy.

"Well we didn't really spend a _day_ together," Connie said. "But, yeah. I agree. Hanging out with friends is fun."

"Yeah. Even if the experience is kinda new," Steven chuckled.

Connie chuckled along. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

They soon arrived to the edge to the beach, the salty smell of seawater wafting under Connie's nose. She looked at Steven, not saying anything, instead just fiddling with her glasses— her standard sign of not knowing what to say.

"Well, it was fun today," Steven said. "Do you want to head to the RV with me? I don't have lessons today, so maybe we could… I dunno, watch some TV or something?"

"Oh, well I can't," Connie said. "I had to put off my chores this morning for the brunch, so I kinda have to get home and do those…"

"Oh," Steven said, visibly deflating.

"But I can call you later," Connie quickly added. "So we can still talk."

Steven smiled, small but warmly. "Yeah. That'd be great."

There was a pause, the two of them just looking at each other, smiling and content. Without even really thinking about it, she reached over and grabbed Steven's hand, holding it in her own. As soon as she did this, Steven's cheeks lit up, and she could feel her own doing the same.

Still, he didn't try to pull away. They just lingered like that, for several long seconds. By the time Connie let go, Steven had been holding onto her hand as well.

"I'll… see you later, Steven," she said.

"Yeah. See you later," he said, the color seeming to rise even deepening in his cheeks.

They just stood there still, but only for a moment. Soon, the world around them— the gulls, the surf, the sounds of the town behind them— crept back into Connie's notice, and she knew she had to get home.

They both waved at each other, one final time, before they parted.

* * *

The horse's hooves thundered on the ground, sending up thick clouds of dust. Wind whipping at her hair and a sharp grin across her face, Amethyst leaned forward in the saddle. "I'M GONNA GET YOU!"

Ahead of her, Rose just laughed, urging her own horse on faster.

Not far away was a pair of wooden barrels that marked the end of race track.

"C'MON! FASTER!" Amethyst cried.

Her horse whinnied, reared, and put on a burst of speed. The creature leapt forward, and bounded past Rose's stallion. Amethyst whooped, and together they galloped past the finish line.

Rose wasn't far behind, giving Amethyst plenty of time to gloat. "I told ya I'd beat ya!"

"You certainly did," Rose said, tipping the brim of her cowboy hat to Amethyst.

Amethyst jumped from her horse to the ground, and giving it a pat on its rump. "Did you see me, when I did that thing? The horse neighed, and I was like, 'YEHAAAWW', and then we charged?"

Rose giggled as she slid off her own steed.

She had let Amethyst win, and Amethyst knew it. She didn't mind. It had still been really awesome.

Amethyst flopped down, landing on her back with a solid _thump_. For what was supposedly a dusty dirt road, it was pretty soft. She sprawled out happily, Rose settling down on the ground beside her.

"You look good in that hat," Amethyst informed her.

"Why thank you. You look good in those boots."

"I know, right?" Amethyst stuck her feet up in the air, and reached out a long, noodly arm to spin the spurs on the heels. "Don't know why humans ever stopped wearing these things."

"Probably because most of them don't ride horses anymore," Rose said.

"Still." There was a heavy _thwak!_ as her feet hit the ground. "Never got why humans just stop wearing so many cool clothes."

"Oh, yes. Remember the— what were they called? Kraftins? Kraftans?"

"Those long robe things? They _were_ pretty awesome."

"Such lovely, bright colors," Rose agreed. "They suited Pearl very well."

Amethyst giggled a little.

The horses were gone. So was the western town. While the land remained yellow and dusty, the buildings had transformed into low stone huts and terraces. Green scrub and palm trees dotted the landscape, and there was a camel.

The world outside was _always_ changing. It was part of what Amethyst loved so much about it. Always something new to do or see. But it was still nice to know, that no matter what things disappeared or died or got destroyed, you could always find them again here. Heck, you could even find things that had never even existed in the first place!

"Hey Rose," Amethyst said abruptly. "Would it be okay if I brought Connie in here some time?"

Rose blinked at her, and Amethyst felt her hope sink. But Rose smiled and said, "Well, I don't see why not!"

"Really? You don't think… like… Well, she's human, so I thought she might not be allowed in the Temple, you know."

"Yes, the Temple can be dangerous for humans." Rose nodded. "But I don't think that will be a concern here. With the two of us present, I'm certain we can keep Connie from coming to any harm. And besides," she continued, eyes twinkling. "I want to get to know the human who's captured your attention so thoroughly."

Amethyst grinned, but her smile faded quickly.

Connie _would_ like this, right? She was super into fantasy and junk, so Rose's room would _have_ to be able to make something Connie would think was cool.

"Amethyst?" asked Rose. "Are you alright?"

"Huh? Y-yeah, sure." Amethyst shrugged. "'Course."

"You're frowning," Rose said gently.

"It's nothin'. It's stupid," Amethyst said, sitting up.

Rose tilted her head. "Now, I highly doubt that. Please, Amethyst, if something is upsetting you, I would like to know. Hopefully I can help."

Amethyst huffed. "Fine, fine. It's just...it's about about Connie. I'm afraid that…" She looked down, letting her long hair fall down in front of her face. She mumbled, "I'm afraid that she doesn't like me as much as I like her."

A soft weight settled on Amethyst's head as Rose began to stroke her hair. "And why would you think that? It seems to me that you've been spending a great deal of time together."

"Well, yeah. But she's also been spending a lot of time with _Steven_."

"Steven?"

"Yeah!" Amethyst jerked her head upwards at a sudden flash of anger, or frustration, or she-didn't-even-know-what. "I was so excited to introduce them! Thought it'd be cool, ya know? But now they're hanging out all the time! Steven drew this awesome picture about her, and I can't do _anything_ like that. And Connie picked _physics_ class over me, but I have magic while she goes to boring old school all the time, so it's not like classes are anything special, so—"

"Amethyst," Rose said.

Amethyst's mouth clamped shut. She was breathing heavily, and she didn't even _need_ to breathe.

"I think I see what is happening here," said Rose.

"You do?"

"Yes." Rose nodded. "It's something we've all felt, at times. But I can assure you, there's no need to worry."

"...you sure?" Amethyst asked, voice laced with skepticism.

In response, Rose opened her arms in a silent invitation. Amethyst carefully crawled into her lap, letting the soft pink hair fall around her. A curl fell in front of Amethyst's face, tickling her, and she suppressed a giggle. There were bigger things to think about.

"Pearl was the first Gem who ever accepted me as me," Rose explained. "And for quite some time, it was just the two of us, living free and unrestrained in Earth's wilderness…"

" _I know_ ," Amethyst rolled her eyes. "You've told me this story, like, a million times."

Rose's whole body shook with laughter. "Sorry, sorry. I just meant, we were alone together for a very long time. And then suddenly, Garnet appeared. It took some adjustment, suddenly having a third with us."

"Or a fourth," joked Amethyst.

"Now, don't let Garnet hear you say that," said Rose, but there was no real admonishment in her voice. "But it was rather strange, suddenly having someone else to split our time with. Still, it didn't take long for me to care for Garnet very deeply. Did that cause my love for Pearl to weaken?"

"No…"

"And how about Pearl's love for me?"

"No."

"And did any of us stop caring for each other, after we'd found you?""

" _Nooooo_."

Amethyst knew it was true, but she couldn't help think that that was _different_. Maybe it was 'cuz Garnet was a fusion, and Ruby and Sapphire had this whole different thing going on. Maybe it was just because it was _Rose and Pearl_ , but—

"But my point is," Rose continued, stroking Amethyst's hair. "Love isn't like a… physical object, where there's a set amount, and the more you divide it, the less there is for each individual. Love is infinite. In fact, I think it only gets stronger the more it's shared."

Amethyst said nothing as she turned those words over in her mind.

Rose waited some time before asking, "Besides, you're friends with Steven too, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Then you're lucky," said Rose. Amethyst bent her head backwards, and looking up, found Rose smiling in a way that was almost giddy. "The three of you get to be friends _together_. A Quartz, a Diamond, and a human." Rose shook her head from sheer excitement. "That's something just— completely _new_!"

Amethyst looked away. "I guess."

The two of them sat in silence, neither of them feeling the need to add anything else. Slowly, the desert around them dissolved from yellows to pinks, the big, fluffy clouds returning.

Rose thrust her hand into the cloud she was sitting on, and pulled out the containment cube. Amethyst watched with interest as she moved her hand in a complex sequence across its six sides. It had taken her, Pearl, and Garnet a long time to figure out the code to open it, but now that Rose had it memorized, her fingers practically blurring as she input the security code. It opened with a flash of purple light. From it, Rose took out the various scrolls stored within.

"What'cha doing?" Amethyst asked, as Rose unfurled the first.

"I'm seeing if there's anything in here that might help me find a cure to the corruption," said Rose, voice a little distant.

Amethyst stretched up her neck. She wasn't super good at reading Gem, but she knew enough to tell the scroll was apparently about what kind of Earth stones made the best building materials.

Rose was back on one of those fixations she got, every few hundred years. Amethyst didn't entirely get why she kept trying. Pearl and Garnet had given up ages ago, but Rose refused to.

But then, if anyone could get all those crazy monsters back to normal, it'd be Rose.

Amethyst quietly slid out of Rose's lap, deciding to leave her to it. She found the main-vein which led down to the Temple's Heart. She slid down it, feeling weighed down by something heavier than gravity.

* * *

The walls of the Beta Kindergarten echoed with the metallic _clank, clank, clank_ of tools, sending heavy vibrations through the old, tired stone. Amethyst paid it no mind, except as a beat to draw to, her pencil scratch-scratch-scratching in time. She was sprawled out on her stomach, legs kicking in the air, and tongue sticking out as she stared at her paper in uncharacteristically intense concentration.

She didn't even notice that the clanking had stopped, or the shadow which had fallen over her, until Pearl said, "Oh that is looking lovely, Amethyst!"

Amethyst started, panic flaring and then immediately subsiding as she processed Pearl's words. "Ya think so?"

"I certainly do," Pearl said, nodding. "Some very nice, bold lines, and a very interesting perspective."

A satisfied smile spread across Amethyst's face— partly from the praise, partly from the fact that Pearl had noticed her art at all. She'd been spending pretty much all her time on the drill lately. Not that Amethyst was complaining or anything. She wasn't exactly super hyped about the destruction of the planet.

But still. Pretty much the only things that could tear Pearl away from her new project was another, more immediate mission. Or making googly eyes at Rose. It felt good to know she could be counted as one of those things, too.

Amethyst traced the lines of Connie's face with a finger. "Any way ya think I could make it better?"

"Pardon?" Pearl let out a high laugh, curling a strand of her otherwise perfect hair around a finger. "I don't know why you'd be asking _me_ for advice, I can't even draw a straight line!"

"Aw, c'mon Pearl! You're awesome at art! Give me some tips!"

"Oh, if you insist," she said, sounding more than a little pleased. She bent down next to Amethyst to get a closer look. "Hm… The proportion of your legs are a little off. Make the thighs a little wider. And here," she pointed at a rock, "the shading is a little out of place. Make it darker here, and lighter there…"

There were a couple minutes of frantic erasing and scribbling, with a few more pointers and suggestions from Pearl.

"Yes, yes, that's coming along very nicely," Pearl said, stepping back and giving a satisfied nod. "But I haven't see you so interested in art since we met— oh, who was he, the man with all the cubes?"

"Picasso?"

"Yes, him."

"Yeah, he was _awesome_."

"If you say so," Pearl replied. "He didn't know basic human anatomy! He kept putting noses on sideways."

"It was his _style_ , Pearl," Amethyst protested.

"Yes, well." Pearl sniffed. "His _style_ or not, that's not what you're drawing right now. You're going with something far more… realistic."

Amethyst fidgeted with her pencil. "Yeah. Well… I've been seeing Steven's drawings…"

"Steven," said Pearl flatly.

"Yeah, Steven! He's really good!" Amethyst met Pearl's eyes on those last words, as if daring Pearl to challenge them.

She didn't. She'd watched Steven drawing plenty of times during guard duty, and couldn't deny his skill.

"So, Steven has… inspired you?" Pearl asked carefully.

"Well… not exactly…"

Amethyst sat up, shifting uncomfortably on her butt. She'd felt stupid about this before, and even more so after Rose's reassurances. Still, the worry was there… so the story spilled out of her again.

Pearl listened very carefully, expression focused and serious, as though Amethyst were explaining the objectives of a mission.

Finally, Pearl said, "I see. Well, Amethyst, I don't think you should worry. If I were your human friend, I would be very touched to receive such a lovely gift."

"But what if Connie likes Steven's better?"

"So what if she does?" said Pearl. "Steven Universe may have some talent at drawing, I'll admit. However, he's simply an undersized Diamond who can barely glance into the past without walking into a wall. You, meanwhile, are a skilled Crystal Gem warrior who has protected humanity for millennia."

Amethyst bit her lip. "But… what if Connie still wants to hang out with him instead of me?"

"Then it's her loss," said Pearl firmly. She began to say something else—

 _BANG!_

The two Gems leapt to their feet. The explosion had come from the drill, which was now spilling dark, almost metallic blue smoke into the sky.

"The gravity engine!" Pearl screeched, rushing towards it. "What could have possibly gone wrong with it _now —_ "

Amethyst hurried after her— but paused to hold her paper down with a wrench, just to make sure it didn't blow away or something. Then she scrambled after Pearl, eager to see what had blown up.

* * *

Human garbage dumps were maybe Amethyst's favourite of their inventions in the past few hundreds years (besides maybe phones, and RocksPop, and those weird vibrating belt things that humans thought could make them lose weight but just made them jiggle like jelly in an earthquake).

When Amethyst went dump-diving, usually her goal was just to find the coolest and weirdest stuff to add to her collection. And while she hadn't been completely ignoring that, she had found herself almost subconsciously distracted by another aim. She wiggled out of the latest trash pile, jumped easily down the slope, to drop her latest haul of electronics at Garnet's feet.

Three cell-phones, half of a fridge, and something with some sort of engine joined the collection.

"So whaddya think?" Amethyst asked. "Will any of this help Pearl with the drill?"

"I don't know. I think she will appreciate the help," said Garnet.

A peek into the future and Garnet could have known, but Amethyst didn't press. Better to keep Pearl's reaction a surprise.

There were now about twenty items of varying sizes in the pile, which was stretching their ability to carry everything to the warp pad in a single trip. Unless Amethyst found a box or a bag or something.

She craned her neck around, trying to see if anything jumped out at her immediately. Nothing did. She began considering if it was worth going for another dive. She had a lot for the drill project, a couple things for herself (a sweater that _LIT UP_ ), but she was still wondering if maybe…

No, no. She already had that drawing. Connie wouldn't want some trash, too.

…Unless it was really _cool_ trash?

"Tell me what's wrong," Garnet said.

Amethyst whirled. "Huh? Nothing's wrong!"

Garnet didn't move, or show any expression. But Amethyst knew that just meant Garnet knew _something_.

Amethyst sighed, but there was no fighting this. If Garnet knew something, _she knew something_ , and if she thought she could help, she probably could.

For the third time, Amethyst shared how she was feeling. By the time she was finished, she was staring down at the ground, feeling very small and cold and shivery.

Garnet stepped closer, compelling Amethyst to look up. She said, "Tell them how you feel."

The cold disappeared quickly as Amethyst's face flushed. "I can't! If I do that, they'll think I'm being stupid!"

"If something is bothering you this much, it's not stupid," said Garnet.

Amethyst looked back down at the dirt, and kicked at one of the phones.

Garnet bent down to meet her eyes. "If Connie does truly cares about you, then she'll want you to be honest with her."

" _Pfft._ Easy for you to say. Rube and Sapph are literally in each other's minds all the time."

"If we weren't honest, I couldn't stay fused." Garnet placed a hand on Amethyst's shoulder. "Communicating your feelings are important in any friendship or relationship. If you sit on your worries, they could just keep getting worse. Sharing them now will ease them."

"But I already shared it with you, and Rose and Pearl!"

"None of us are the source."

Ugh. Garnet just made it seem so- so-

Amethyst exhaled a breath she didn't even know she had, and frowned off into the distance.

How would you even bring it up? _"Hey, Connie, Steven. I don't like the two of you hanging out because I'm the worst friend ever!"_

Yeah, _right_.

"Just try," Garnet said.

"...fine," Amethyst mumbled.

Garnet nodded, removing her hand and stepping back. She picked up half a fridge in one hand, and a massage chair in another. "Let's bring these things to Pearl."

 **oOo**

 **Authors' Note:** Hey folks! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

We've got an announcement to make: this Saturday we're going to be hosting a writing stream, in celebration for reaching 500 followers on our blog. It'll be an experiment for all of us, but a fun one, we hope. If you're interested in checking it out, you can find the details on the teamfadedblue tumblr.


	31. The Letter

**Chapter Thirty-One: The Letter**

"You sure you don't want to come, Dad?"

Greg patted Steven on the shoulder. "Yeah, I'm sure, bud. Think I'm gonna just chill here for the day, ya know? Get some R&R."

Steven nodded, but Greg could tell he was disappointed his old man wasn't coming along with him, Pearl, and Lapis to Seoul. _Greg_ was a little disappointed, too. Seoul always had an amazing nightlife, with lots of great restaurants and shows and such.

But Greg had to spend the day doing something more important.

Pearl laid a sympathetic hand on Greg's arm. "If you need us, Steven will have his phone."

Greg smiled weakly. "Alright. Thanks, Pearl."

After coming home from his first visit from the grief group therapy in Ocean Town, he'd been surprised to find Pearl had been waiting at the RV for him. She'd asked how it had gone, and he'd told her that it had mainly been introductions and sharing his story. Luckily, the group hadn't been pressed for too many details. He was still trying to figure out how to work the finer points into it without sounding like a nut.

Talking through your emotions and problems was mostly a foreign concept to Gems. Actually, it was a pretty foreign concept to a lot of humans, too. But it was literally alien to Pearl, and he could tell she still didn't entirely understand it.

Nonetheless, she had listened to his explanation in that quiet way of hers, and offered to help in whatever way she could. When Greg had said that what he needed right then was a day to himself without Steven around so he could work on some therapy stuff, Pearl had then told him her idea.

"We'll get you something cool," Steven said, before smiling over his shoulder at Lapis. "Maybe after we find a show Lapis wants to see."

Lapis shrugged dully in response. "I don't know what's so special about this city. All the ones I've flown over have looked pretty much the same."

"Trust me, Lapis," Pearl said. "Seoul is noteworthy."

"Yeah! It's got an old palace, and awesome markets, and this cool art gallery, and it's awesome!" cried Steven.

"If you say so," muttered Lapis.

"So when do you think you'll be back?" Greg asked.

"Before nightfall here," Pearl answered, before putting both hands on Steven's shoulders. "Although… you know how that can go."

Greg laughed good-naturedly. "Yeah, I do. So you behave for Pearl, Steven."

" _Daaaaad_ ," Steven groaned, his cheeks flaring with color. "I'm not a little kid. I'm not gonna wander off or anything."

"Again," Pearl added with a small smile.

Greg laughed again, waving the them away. "Okay, you three. Go have fun. Take a round in a karaoke bar for me."

The three walked off towards the Temple, waving and saying goodbye as they did. They soon turned the corner on the beach and Greg was alone by the RV.

He continued to stand there and look towards the beach for several seconds before stepping back inside the RV. He walked to one of the cabinets in the sitting area, only to notice the paper and pen already laying on the table. Pearl must have gotten them out before they left.

Greg couldn't help but smile. Pearl always seemed to go out of her way to help him. However, _that_ thought knotted his insides and brought his mind back on the main reason he was doing this.

Greg sat down at the table and grabbed a pen, pressing its tip against the paper, but not moving from there.

He had no idea how to start this.

The group had encouraged him to be as honest as possible, that the idea was that even getting these feelings onto paper would make a difference. Admittedly, Greg had been a little dubious, but the more he thought about it, the more he came around to the idea. It'd be like sucking the poison out of a wound. The start of the healing process.

(Wait. Wasn't sucking poison out of a wound a bad thing? He was pretty sure he'd read that somewhere...)

Greg shook his head. That wasn't the point. The point was that he could start moving forward. That he could finally stop thinking about Blue's smile as they cuddled under the stars, wishing that he could go back to those precious times. for those times to be back.

After a moment, Greg started writing. It wasn't much, really. Less a letter and more just him writing as if he were talking to Blue, as if she were sitting across from him, silently waiting to hear what he had to say. It was heart-pounding, and Greg had to remind himself that he was here alone.

 _'_ _How could you possibly treat Pearl like that?'_

Greg's breath caught in his throat and he dropped his pen. He had to get up from his seat, had to look away from the paper. He walked over to the kitchen sink and splashed some cool water on his face.

The chill against his face was bracing, and the sound of running water into the sink was oddly soothing. He just stared into the sink, at the water splashing into the metal bottom, and considered his own thoughts.

Pearl. That was what always seemed to hook him, filling him with icy fear and guilt.

Pearl. A slave.

"It's not like that anymore, it's not like that anymore…" Greg kept telling himself that, in the hopes that it would banish his past from his mind. But even now, his memories turned towards him and Blue. He lingered at the sink for a few more moments before walking back to the table, his steps unsteady. He sank back into his seat and his unfinished letter, with its unanswerable question staring back at him.

No, not unanswerable. The answer was fairly simple.

Blue, the person Greg knew and loved, was nowhere near the person he thought she was.

He thought all there was to her was a grieving sister, too burdened by her responsibilities to continue on in her old life. And… she was. That was something that had been mentioned at the group. That people- even the people who had hurt you- were all individuals, and that you should always try your best to imagine them complexly.

So Blue was who Greg had thought she was- the loving, artistic soul who would be content to lie on the mountainside and listen to Greg strum his guitar. But she was also the person who thought nothing of enslaving another, who thought so little of it that she didn't even try and tell him. It… just _was_.

 _You didn't even see it! All those years with her and you never even saw anything that you thought could be wrong!_

Admittedly, that wasn't completely true. A lot about Blue's and Pearl's relationship had struck Greg as odd over the years. The way they always seemed so rigid around each other and never really seemed to talk to each other. But he'd always chalked that up to them being literal aliens from another planet. Heck, there was a lot of Pearl's behavior that _still_ made him raise an eyebrow.

 _Then maybe you should be asking about them? Unless you want something like this happening again…_

Greg sighed, before glancing at the window next to the table. There were pictures sitting in the sill. They were all family pictures that Steven had brought from the Palanquin. None from before Steven was born, thankfully. Mostly just pictures of the three of them: himself, Steven and Pearl.

One in particular caught Greg's eye. He remembered taking it. It had been late at night, just a few days before Greg had flown off to American and Steven had moved into the Palanquin. They'd all gone out to eat together, sorta like a last shindig. It'd started with a melancholic air, but Steven had perked up as the night had worn on. After the meal, he'd insisted on a photo of all three of them, to remember their great evening.

Greg smiled at the memory of the slightly befuddled businessman that Pearl had asked to take their picture. No doubt he was tired and just wanted to go home, and then this odd threesome were asking for their photo taken. But he'd still taken the photo, a moment now captured in this frame.

Just the three of them smiling, Steven standing in front of Greg, his cheeks red from the cold…

The thought began to squirm in Greg's mind.

It was selfish, Greg knew that. Especially in the wake of what he had found out about Pearl's life… But that was what always circled the edges of his mind, what hung over him as he tried to fall asleep listening to Steven's gentle breathing in the back of the RV.

That Greg, through his choice of partner, may have inadvertently ruined Steven's life. That he should have had a normal mother. A good one.

That was stupid. If Steven had had another mother, he wouldn't have been _Steven_.

But still...

Memories that, in any other circumstance would seem like nothing, swirled around Greg. Images of him at the old apartment, Steven sitting in his lap and Greg happily telling him about his mother and what a wonderful, sweet, and talented person she was.

...all while Pearl dusted the nearby windowsill, a silent reminder of who Blue truly was. But Greg had been too stupid and too blinded by his own feelings to really see it.

And through that, he had ruined one life and perpetuated the hurt of another.

Greg gasped, his breath catching in his throat as an unseen tear fell from his face and landed with a dull splat on the paper, marking it with the hurt he felt.

Without even drying his eyes, Greg grabbed his pen, but was unable to fully write down his final thoughts.

 _How could you do this to them_

 _How could you do this to our son_

With that, Greg finally broke down and began sobbing into his hands, the pen clattering against the table. All feelings that had been slowly building up since that evening when Pearl had first told him the truth-

Greg sniffed and finally wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

No. The way that sounded made it seem like Pearl had been keeping a secret. But she hadn't. The matter-of-fact way she had spoken had made that clear enough. To Pearl, that was just… her life. Perhaps barely a change.

 _It has changed. The way she acts around him… It's totally different than how she was around Blue. It's_ ** _different_** _._

The thought felt good, even if the thought of comforting himself on the back of Pearl's _abuse_ made him feel sick to his stomach.

For several uncounted minutes, Greg just sat there, his eyes closed tightly shut as he tried his best to stop crying.

He didn't succeed for a long, long time. But when he did, he finished his letter.

* * *

It was nightfall by the time Steven, Pearl, and Lapis had returned. Enough time for Greg to thankfully recompose himself.

(And crumple his letter and stuff it in his back pocket.)

"It was so great, Dad!" Steven exclaimed as the four of them stood outside under the canopy. The evening breeze felt refreshing against Greg's warm face. "The show we saw was amazing! And then after the food carts, we did karaoke! Even Lapis joined in!"

Lapis crossed her arms and looked away, a noticeable blush crossing her face. She shrugged. "Everyone else was doing it. Would have been weird if I hadn't."

Pearl smiled at her. "It was certainly a spectacle."

That seemed to be one comment too many. In a flash, two watery wings appeared on Lapis's back. She took a step away from them, before stopping and turning towards Steven and Pearl. "It… was pretty fun, though." An awkward smile spread across her face.

"See?" Steven asked. "I told you Seoul would be cool."

"Yeah." Lapis looked over at Pearl. "Guess there is a bit more to this planet."

Pearl's smile seemed to grow just a little wider as she nodded. "Yes. There is."

With a nod of her own, Lapis flapped her wings and leapt into the air, hovering over them for a few moments before flying off. Greg wondered how they'd managed to get her to stick around for an entire day, or at all.

"So," Greg said, clapping his hands together. "Had a long day, sport. Probably time to pack it in for the night, huh?"

As if in response, Steven yawned mightily. "Yeah. I'm sleepy."

"Though, before that," Pearl said. "You'll need to clean yourself. At least as best we can here."

"Oh, crud," Greg said, surprising himself by speaking out loud. Steven and Pearl looked at him and he explained, "I meant to ask Vidalia or Barb if we could borrow one of their showers." He grinned sheepishly at Steven. "If for no other reason than you don't have to keep bathing in the sink of the car wash, bud."

Steven giggled at his Dad. "Well, one more time won't be the end of everything."

Greg laughed back. "I guess not. Go on. Grab your towel and shampoo." Steven nodded and darted into the RV. Greg looked over at Pearl. "So how'd things go? No problems?"

Pearl shook her head. "No. Steven had a good time and, though she is loathe to admit it, I believe Lapis did as well."

"And you?"

"Yes. I did as well. It was an enjoyable time."

"Good. That's good," Greg said.

For a second, Pearl looked as if she was going to ask something, but Steven returned, towel, shampoo, and pajamas in hand.

"Ready!" he declared with the energy of a person who hadn't been experiencing city nightlife all day.

Greg and Steven walked over to the car wash's front door, Pearl following after them. Greg unlocked the door and flicked on the light. "Alright, Steven. You go get ready for bed. We'll be right here."

Steven nodded and walked to bathroom, shutting the door behind him. The sound of water from the sink shortly followed.

Greg sat down in one of the waiting room's chairs, sighing as he did. Steven wouldn't be the only one sleeping soundly tonight. Hopefully.

"Greg." The sound of his name made Greg perk up and he saw Pearl was standing next to him. "How was your day?"

There was a certain firmness to the way she asked, as if she could already tell what he was going to say. Which wouldn't be surprising. Pearl was always that perceptive.

He sighed. "It was… something. Long." He shook his head. "Lots of reflecting, ya know?"

"I believe we have all been doing a lot of that," Pearl responded.

That was certainly true. While Greg could scarcely imagine what was going through the Crystal Gems' minds about recent events, he knew Steven had a lot on his plate, even if the poor kid did his best to try and hide it.

But the way he had hidden the few pictures of Blue Diamond that had been at the Palanquin in a cupboard in the RV was… telling.

And of course, he couldn't even _begin_ to imagine what was going on in Pearl's mind.

"I guess we have," Greg said. "Though I'll admit, today was definitely a bit more personal with its soul searching." Pearl said nothing in return and Greg heaved another sigh, looking down at his sandaled feet. "I just... worry about Steven through all this… Making him question who he is or… I don't even know."

And that was true. Greg's worry about his son was so nebulous in nature. Beyond hurting Steven or hurting his chances at a good life, Greg had nothing to really _hang_ his fear on. And that made it so much worse to him.

He felt his throat tighten, followed quickly by someone- Pearl- taking his hand into her own and holding it firmly. He looked up at her and she was facing away from him, looking instead at the bathroom door.

"Steven is Steven. As he always has been," Pearl said simply. "Nothing can change that."

Greg looked at Pearl, almost awestruck by what she'd said, before a small, but thankful smile bloomed on his lips. "Yeah. He is," Greg agreed. "I guess all we can do is to continue to be there for him."

"As we always have been."

Greg nodded, his smile taking on a slightly more melancholic feeling. "Yeah..."

The water turned off from the bathroom and Greg rose to his feet, just as Steven stepped out, drying his hair, the clothes he'd been wearing that day draped over his shoulder.

"Okay," he said. "That feels a little better."

"Well I'm glad," Greg said.

"Did you brush your teeth, sunshine?" Pearl asked.

"Yup. See?" Steven flashed a bright, toothy smile at them.

Pearl smiled. "Very good. Now then, I believe it's time we return to the RV."

Steven nodded, saying nothing as another yawn overtook him. The three of them exited the car wash, Greg pausing a moment to lock it up, before the three of them returned to the RV. Once inside, Steven went straight to the bed in the back, crawling under the covers and holding his arms out for them.

Greg and Pearl each took in turn to hug and kiss him on the forehead, wishing him a good night. Greg flipped the light off and both he and Pearl returned to the front of the RV.

But Pearl didn't stay long, saying that she was going to retire for the evening with Lapis. Greg waved her off. "Of course. You've been busy all day. You go take some relaxation time."

Pearl lingered for just a moment, before quickly nodding, saying she'd be back before sunrise. She quietly left the RV, leaving Greg alone.

Greg sat down in the driver's seat of the RV, considering grabbing his blanket and pillow and getting some rest as well. But the idea quickly fled his mind. He was still feeling a little too antsy to fall asleep. Instead he got up, pacing a little before he heard Steven in the back. He quickly paused, afraid that he had woken him, but there was no more sound, save for Steven's soft snores.

Knowing he shouldn't, but unable to resist, Greg walked back to the bed, drawing the privacy curtain aside and just… looked at his dear boy. Greg felt a whirling mix in his gut, complete love and clawing sadness together.

But he still just quietly watched his son, sitting down after a moment, too afraid to draw too close lest he wake him.

He looked so innocent. Just a boy tired out by a long day, his chest slowly rising and falling with his sleepy breathing. No harshness in his life, no terrible secrets. Just a boy resting for the next day.

Greg furrowed his brow as he began to chew on his lip. Slowly, not even fully realizing what he was doing, Greg slid his letter out of his back pocket, carefully flattened it, and let his eyes slowly scan over it:

 _Blue_

 _I don't even know what to say to you. After these last few weeks, you don't even seem like the same person anymore. Not like the person I met on the mountainside and fell in love with. Because that person could never do what I've found out you did._

 _How could you possibly treat Pearl like that? Another person, a living person and you just enslaved her._ _I know you'd give me all sorts of excuses if you were here. That this was a Gem thing, and that I just couldn't understand. That's the line you always told me whenever I got confused about Homeworld stuff, and I always accepted it._ _But I can't accept this. I can't._

 _Pearl's one of the nicest, sweetest people I know. And you just used her._ _I think about you a lot. I always have. I love d thinking about all the time we spent together. Our trip to Empire. Wandering the mountainside, composing music. Those times visiting me in my apartment, me sleeping against your bare skin. I know you found it so weird, shapeshifting your clothes away. You didn't get it, but you still tried, just because I asked._

 _If I'd asked you to stop hurting Pearl, would you?_ _I don't know. I just don't._ _I'm realizing now that I never really knew you Blue. And maybe you didn't even realize what you were doing, who you were hurting. And going to hurt eventually._

 _Steven's so big now. Big by human standards, at least. I think you'd like him. I think I knew you well enough to believe that, to believe you'd be proud of him. He's awesome at art, and he loves talking to animals, and he's making friends here, human and gems too._ _You wouldn't like that. You hated the Crystal Gems._

 _And I don't know. Maybe even if Amethyst wasn't one, you'd still hate their friendship. After finding out how you treated Pearl, who knows how you treated Amethysts and Lapises and Rose Quartzes and who knows what other gems there are out there. Part of me wants to find out but… I guess I'm scared to ask._

 _Isn't that stupid?_ _We never really talked too much about Steven's future, besides making sure I protected him from the Crystal Gems. You wanted him to grow up on Earth, but I know you wanted him to go back to Homeworld eventually, too. What did you expect to happen when he did? That's he'd just continue on where you left off? Inherit all your slaves and armies?_

 _Now, knowing what I do, I'm glad you're not around anymore, because I don't think I could bring myself to look you in the eye ever again._

It hurt reading the letter again, but Greg didn't cry, didn't whimper. He was too tired and his tears were already spent. Instead, he looked down into his lap, crumpling the letter in his fist as a new feeling rose inside him. A sense of determination.

 _No matter what, I'm going to be there for him. Heaven and hell just try and stop me._

The new feeling didn't replace the grief and sadness Greg felt, but it did almost temper it, cornering it into something smaller and more manageable.

Greg smiled again as he leaned his head against the wall, his eyes beginning to feel heavy as he closed them for the night. It wouldn't make everything better immediately, but it was a start.

A start for a brand new Greg Universe.


	32. Opening Up

**Chapter Thirty-Two: Opening Up**

Amethyst paced around in a tight circle on the boardwalk, her heavy steps causing the wood to creak and groan beneath her. There were some humans not-so-subtly watching her from a distance. Amethyst didn't mind. In fact, if this were any other day, she'd probably use the opportunity to mess with them by doing weirder and more outlandish things. But that was the furthest thing from her mind. Today was a day for no funny business- something Amethyst had never thought she'd consider.

Amethyst reached down the front of her shirt and pulled out her phone. She tapped the screen and it flared to life, showing a picture of a delicious cheese pizza she'd had the other day.

She looked at the time. The numbers still didn't really mean much to her, but they meant a lot to Connie and it was the easiest way for Amethyst to determine when Connie would arrive.

10:58

Connie had said she'd be here at eleven.

(At the daytime eleven. There being two elevens was pretty stupid to Amethyst.)

But regardless of how nonsensical the human time system was, Connie stuck to it closely. Meaning, she'd be here soon. Which was good. The sooner she got here, the better. Amethyst was already starting to second guess her plan…

Amethyst stopped pacing long enough to shove her phone back into her pocket, only for a familiar voice to chime behind her:

"Hey, Amethyst."

Amethyst suppressed her urge to jump, and instead turned and grinned. "Heya, Crushed. What's up?"

Connie shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing really. We had an algebra test at school yesterday."

"Yeah? Was it a good one?"

Connie chuckled. "I don't really know what a 'good' test would be like. But it was pretty simple. We were allowed to use notes so I had all the formulas and stuff."

Amethyst nodded, even though she didn't fully understand what an 'algebra' was exactly. "Well, as long as it didn't give ya too much trouble." She snorted. "So ya got any plans in mind?"

"Besides hang out with you?" Connie asked with a lopsided grin. "Why? Do you have something in mind?"

"Kinda… Come on, let's walk." Amethyst began down the boardwalk, Connie quickly following behind her.

After a bit, they came to the park. People were walking and loitering around. Not that many though, which Amethyst was thankful for. This was going to be weird enough. She really didn't want an audience.

The two of them stopped in front of the statue of some person Amethyst couldn't really give a toss for. Amethyst leaned against its base, folding her arms as she tried to screw up some willpower.

When Connie had first arrived, she'd been perky and excited, probably expecting Amethyst to drag her into one of their usual adventures. Now, however, she looked concerned. "Amethyst? Is everything alright?"

Amethyst hesitated, before sighing. "No. I mean- Maybe. I dunno."

"Well, you can tell me whatever you need to," Connie said earnestly. "That's what friends are for, right?"

Amethyst pressed her lips tightly together before saying, "Yeah. 'Bout that… You and me… we are friends, right?"

Connie blinked at her. "Of course we are, Ame," she said. "I mean, what- I didn't do anything, did I?"

"No, no! Course not!" Amethyst quickly said. "It's just-" She sighed again. "I dunno. Ever since you met Steven…"

"Steven? What about him?"

"I dunno, dude," Amethyst said, perhaps a bit sharper than she intended to. She tried to say more, but the words wouldn't come, leaving her only to shrug her shoulders.

A beat of silence, before Connie spoke again, voice hushed. "Is this about-" she pointed to her chest "-his gemstone?"

Amethyst shook her head. "Nah, it's not. If it was, it'd probably be a lot easier to talk about." She pushed off from the statue, preparing herself. It was now or never. "It's just… ever since the two of you met and started hanging out and stuff… I dunno. Maybe you don't want to hang out with me anymore…"

With the words finally out there, Amethyst felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her chest... only for that same weight to land with a thunderous 'thud' between her and Connie.

"Amethyst, I-" Connie started. "Yes, Steven and I are friends. And yeah, Steven's great, but... You're my friend too, Amethyst. And you are awesome." Connie chuckled. "I mean, you saved my life, after all."

Amethyst laughed, embarrassed. "Yeah, I did."

"And you were also my first real friend," Connie continued. She was staring at the ground now, eyes looking misty. "Before I met you, I never really hung out with anyone. Unless we count my parents."

'Dude, are you crying?!' was what Amethyst would normally have said, but instead she just sighed and mumbled, "Yeah, I know what you mean. Before you, I mostly spent all my time with Garnet, Rose, and Pearl."

"So I guess we're both each other's first real friend," Connie said, smiling. A little taut, but genuine.

Amethyst returned her grin. "Yeah. I guess we kinda were."

Another silent beat passed, before Connie spoke again, "I'm friends with Steven, and I really enjoy hanging out with him. But I mean it, Amethyst. You're my friend too. I'm not like, replacing you or anything. I love the times when we're hanging out, having fun."

It was exactly what Rose had said. Exactly that. Now Amethyst felt ever more stupid for not listening to her.

"Yeah. Same, Crushed," Amethyst replied, before shaking her head. "Sorry for dropping all this on ya at once," she said. "Just kinda been... stewing in it for a while."

"That's okay, Ame," Connie said. "I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to say anything about it, really."

"Yeah?"

Connie nodded. "Like we've both been saying this whole conversation: we're friends. And friends should be able to be comfortable around each other to talk about things. That's how it always works in books and TV, at least. "

"Yeah, right," Amethyst said.

They both stood there for a moment. Amethyst was just about to try and change the subject, maybe ask Connie if she was interested in some pizza, when Connie leaned in and wrapped her arms around Amethyst, hugging her snugly.

"You're my best friend, Amethyst. Don't forget that."

Feeling her lips quiver, Amethyst returned the hug, burying her face in Connie's shoulder while silently wondering to herself how one human could be so amazing.

* * *

Thick powder dusted up around Steven's nose, forcing it to wrinkle as he fought back a sneeze.

Fought, and failed.

Too sudden to stop himself or cover his mouth, he sneezed right in the face of Jenny Pizza.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he sputtered, wiping his nose.

Jenny was going to be furious with him, he knew it. Her face was pulled back in a disgusted grimace, and she and the other teens would never want to talk to him again-

Then she laughed, face relaxing into something less-shocked, though no-less disgusted. "Guess I overdid it, huh?"

"I, uh," Steven stammered.

Buck came over and silently passed Jenny some tissue paper. She wiped the snot off her face, making loud noises of revolt.

Steven grimaced at his lap as he felt felt the sense of embarrassment wash over him, apologizing over and over. "I must be the worse make-up, uh, subject ever," Steven said.

"Nah," Jenny said with a laugh, as she tossed the used issues into the trash. "You're better than Kiki, at least."

"Kiki?" asked Steven.

"My sister." Jenny returned to her make-up kit, and much more lightly and gently restarted applying the powder to Steven's face. "She won't even let me get near her with the stuff. She think it's a waste of time."

"That's cool," Buck said. "People should be able to feel comfortable in their own skin."

Jenny waved her free hand dismissively as she started with the lipgloss. "Sure, sure. I'm all about girls being able to reject patriarchal beauty standards or whatever, but when it comes to TV, ya gotta be practical. The lights throw every single blemish and pimple into relief."

"This is gonna be on TV?" Steven said, once his mouth was free.

"No," said Buck.

"The internet is the TV of the future!" Ronaldo cried from the other side of the lighthouse. "How long are we looking at, crew?"

"Ten minutes-ish!" Jenny cried. Ronaldo heavily sighed, and she added, "Ya can't rush beauty!"

It didn't take that long, really, and thankfully nothing worked out as disastrously as the blush. When Jenny finished, she let him look at himself in the mirror-app on her phone.

It was… weird. His familiar face changed slightly, almost as if he'd been practicing his shapeshifting. The bluish hue of his skin was still visible, but muted, leaving him with a tone similar to his Dad's, only several shades darker. The bags under his eyes had been covered up, his lips were a shinier pink, and a touch of mascara made his eyelashes seemed to pop. He blinked at himself.

"So? Like it?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah," he said. He looked… Awake. Vibrant.

He wondered if Dad had felt this way every time he'd gotten made up for an interview or show.

Steven was lead to The Beach City Explorers' studio. Or at least what passed for their studio. There was a desk in front of a hanging green curtain, with a couple of spinny office chairs positioned nearby. Some old standing lamps were directed towards the setup, for lighting. Their 'main camera' was an old phone perched on a 'tripod', jury-rigged from selfie sticks. Steven's gaze kept being drawn towards it. He'd look away, only to fiddle with the sleeve of his nice green blouse. He suddenly wished he was wearing his hoodie instead, so he could put the put the hood up and hide himself.

"Don't even worry about the camera," Ronaldo advised. "Ignore it. Focus on me, Universe. We're going to give an awesome show!"

"Okay," Steven said, nodding.

He still couldn't help but glance

From behind the camera, Buck gave him a thumbs up.

Steven smiled and sat straight. He recalled all the times he's sat in the Palanquin's throne, pretending to talk to his subjects, and tried to summon that same confidence.

The camera started rolling.

"Beach City!" Ronaldo boomed. "I'm Ronaldo Fryman, your host! I'm here today with Steven Universe, son of our city's own Mr. Universe!"

Steven waved shly at the camera.

"His father may be a famous rocker, but Steven's got a talent of his own. Not with a guitar, but a paintbrush. Steven, you recently won the Budwick Library's 'Familiar Magic' art competition, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did," said Steven.

"Can you tell us a bit about it? What inspired you to sign up?"

Steven shrugged. "Oh, well… I was just being shown to the library with my friend Lars, the librarian mentioned it, and we thought it would be fun."

A frown flickered across Ronaldo's face for a moment, but was quickly replaced with his interviewer grin. "Do you hear that, viewers? So humble. Steven, tell us a little about how you got into art in the first place…"

The interview went on, and gradually Steven's nervousness retreated. It felt less like he was being filmed, and more like he was just having a cheerful conversation with just a regular- if admittedly, extremely inquisitive- person. Ronaldo asked about his art, what his favorite styles were, what his thoughts of Beach City were since moving there. It was even… fun, after a time.

"So," Ronaldo said eventually, "Tell us a bit about your piece. A very stunning depiction of the Sneople Goddess Statue."

"The- the what?"

"You know. The giant statue constructed by the snake people, fenced off from the rest of the town lest we mortals wander too close and have our minds melted by its cosmic power."

Steven glanced towards the camera again- this time, for any sign from the other teens that this was a joke. Buck's expression was stoic and unreadable. Next to him, Jenny mouthed 'just go with it'.

"Well, actually, it wasn't the focus of my piece. It was the docks…" He gave the explanation about how they were the place he'd met Connie. He heard Jenny let out a little 'awww', only for Buck to immediately press a hand over her mouth to shush her.

Steven's face felt hot He was glad for the makeup hiding any blushing.

Ronaldo nodded. "Very profound. An important reminder that we cannot let our fear of the sneoples' powers rule over us."

Steven finally let his curiosity get the better of him.

"Uh, what exactly do you mean by 'sneople'?"

"Of course, you're new to the town. You might not be aware." Ronaldo leaned forward, steepling his fingers together. "Sneople, or snake people, are powerful, near-immortal beings that have been controlling human society since time immemorial. Their ruins and technologies have been found all over the globe, but Beach City is one of their most central bases of operations."

Steven stared. "You mean… Gems."

"Is that what they're called in Korea?"

"No, that's just what they are."

Ronaldo smiled. There was something kind of aggravating about it. "Yes, well, I am an expert on this subject."

"No you're 're just-" Steven shook his head. "I know what I'm talking about. I actually am a Gem."

In demonstration, Steven pulled down the collar of his shirt. Or tried to- blouses weren't as flexible as t-shirts. He had to unbutton it to display.

Buck and Jenny gathered in closer to see, which Ronaldo groused about not being proper interview protocol, but didn't really make any effort get them off screen. Now all the questions were about Gems (or "Sneople"), and Steven's connection to them. Ronaldo was obviously skeptical, but Jenny pointed out his Gem did look like those things the magical ladies had.

So did he have any powers? Yes, Steven said. He could talk to animals… not that he had any way of demonstrating, since there were none present. He could change people's emotions… but he had little interest in using that, even if he could trigger it on demand. He ended up showing off his shapeshifting. It wasn't anywhere as easy doing it under pressure as when he was just hanging out with Amethyst, but he did manage to stretch his ears out like a rabbit's.

That got some applause from Jenny and Buck… and blew Ronaldo away so much he nearly fell out of his chair.

He collected himself quickly, or at least made a good attempt at it. "Can you do anything else?" he pressured. "Can you shed your skin? Release mind-controlling hormones? Access your spirit weapon?"

"... spirit weapon?"

"Yes, yes. Every snerson has one. A sword, a spear, a whip-"

"Gauntlets," added Buck.

"Yes. Of course, the sneoples' main weapon in the modern era is the media, but I'm still extremely fascinated in their ancient traditions."

"Uh…" said Steven. Pearl had told him that warrior Gems were capable of summoning weapons to fight with… but then, Pearl-ssi could make a spear too, so maybe it wasn't limited to just proper fighters after all. He was a Diamond, which of course went beyond being a simple warrior, but…

"... I don't know," Steven admitted.

"You don't know," Ronaldo repeated, that skeptical tone returning.

Steven gave a helpless shrug. "I'm still… learning a lot of my powers."

"Hmmm," Ronaldo said.

It had looked like he had wanted to say something else, but just then, there was the pounding as someone rushed up the lighthouse's staircase and flung the door open. It took Steven a moment to place the person as Peedee, the fry-kid he'd rescued from the seagulls.

"Ronaldo," Peedee panted, "you're late for your shift."

"I'm conducting an interview Peedee!"

"Yeah, well, I'm conducting 'peeling 500 potatoes', and Dad's going to be really mad if we don't finish them…"

Ronaldo sighed and rubbed his temples.

"It's okay, Ronnie. We got the footage we need for the art competition piece already," said Jenny.

"But we were just getting to the heart of the real story!" Ronaldo wailed.

Buck patted him on the back. "We'll do a follow-up piece." He looked at Steven. "What d'you say?"

"Uh... We'll see," said Steven. He got up. "I'm pretty busy so…"

Ronaldo nodded. "We'll keep in touch."

"Thanks so much for coming today, Steven!" Jenny said.

"Yeah. Thanks," added Buck. Ronaldo nodded agreement.

They all smiled at him, and Steven gave a genuine smile back. Nonetheless, it faded pretty quickly once he'd left the lighthouse. There was a curious, uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach.

It had gotten… weird, at the end there. He wished Ronaldo had just stuck to questions about art.

At least when he got back to the van, Pearl said he looked very nice. That made him feel a bit better. He at least got to enjoy explaining make-up to her as they prepared dinner.

* * *

Lapis flew over an expanse of greenery and saw the ocean peeking just below the horizon. Finally. She didn't know how long it'd been since she'd left that morning, but the flight had been long and she was growing tired of seeing only land and humans and... more land and more humans.

While the view may have been uninteresting, she didn't mind flying all the way from the Kindergarten. Normally she'd just take the warp pad, but it had been a while since the last time she got to stretch her wings.

Besides, she didn't like warping to the Crystal Gem base if she could help it. Even if Steven had formed a truce with them, and even if Lapis had complete trust in her Diamond's judgement, she couldn't take any chances. So she remained constantly vigilant, to protect herself and the Court she belonged to.

Any Gem loyal to her home would do the same.

She slowed down as she approached the shoreline, coming to a halt near the boardwalk. All the other times she'd hovered above the city, it had been to keep an eye out for Pearl or Steven. But neither of them were around, and the Crystal Gems were nowhere in sight, so Lapis decided to simply relish the moment. She smiled as she breathed in the familiar scent of the ocean breeze and listened to the waves softly crashing against the beach.

CRASH!

Lapis frowned. That was not the sound of ocean waves. She flew over to where the noise had come from, and found a round purple thing spinning circles on the sand while giggling.

Amethyst.

Lapis didn't want to deal with her at the moment, so she simply kept flying, hoping the other Gem hadn't noticed she was there. But soon, a low noise cut through the air behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a large strange shape. It was flying after her.

Lapis's frown deepened. She could've accelerated and left Amethyst behind, if she wanted to. But then word would get back to the other Crystal Gems, and Lapis didn't want to give them any reasons to be suspicious of her. She paused in her flight, flapping her wings to hover in place.

Amethyst had shapeshifted into a human contraption to fly. She had a round body with seats inside, a thick tail with a set of rotating fins near its tip, and a larger rotating fin on top of her... head? The form was too strange for Lapis to make any sense of it.

"You're not here to mess up my hair, are you?" Lapis asked as soon as Amethyst had caught up.

"Well hello to you too, sunshine," Amethyst said. "And nah, I just wanted to see what you were up to."

"Flying."

"Yeah, I got that," said Amethyst, a grin forming on whatever part of her form that still had her face. "You saw me roosting in Connie's hair back then, huh?"

Lapis made a noncommittal grunt.

"Didja also see me doing cartwheels on the beach just now?

"What's a 'cartwheel'?"

"It's a thing humans use to..." Amethyst tried to gesture, but only managed to wiggle her tail end. "You know what? It'll be easier to just show you, but we should probably do that on the ground."

Lapis stared at her. "Doesn't that tire you out?"

"What? Flying?"

"Shapeshifting into... whatever that is."

"Nah. I'm used to it. 'Sides, it's fun." Amethyst flew circles around her companion. Lapis wasn't amused, but she didn't tell Amethyst to stop either. "How about you? Don't ya get tired flying around all day?"

"I'm used to it." Lapis shrugged. "And I guess it could be fun sometimes."

"So where're ya headed?"

"I don't know. I didn't really have a destination in mind."

"Just flying. Gotcha." Amethyst tipped forward, which was probably a nod. "Ya don't mind if I tag along, right?"

Lapis minded very much, but didn't say anything. She just made another noncommittal grunt before gliding forward. Amethyst must have interpreted that as a yes, because she followed right behind.

They were just far out enough to still see the coastline from a distance. They flew high above the clouds to glimpse the edges of space, before diving until their toes almost skimmed the ocean water. Sea creatures swam just beneath the surface, reminding Lapis of the dolphins she met with Steven the other day. Which, in turn, reminded her of another Earth animal she'd recently been introduced.

Lapis slowed down to a lazy glide, turning around to look at… whatever counted as a face in Amethyst's strange form.

"You know a lot about this planet, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Amethyst said. "Why? Wanna know about something?"

Lapis nodded. "What's so special about frogs?"

"Frogs?" Amethyst frowned and seemed to ponder her answer carefully. "They're easier to eat than chickens, but taste about the same. Bones're smaller though, so they're easier to get stuck in your teeth. And I guess they're kinda cute when they hop around ponds and stuff? Oh, and they come in really cool colors! And if a human touches them they die."

Lapis rubbed her forehead and sighed. She didn't know why she had ever expected a straight answer from any of the Crystal Gems.

"Hey, so is it my turn to ask a question?" Amethyst asked, seemingly bouncing up and down in midair. Lapis didn't answer, but Amethyst didn't seem to need one. "Okay, uh, so... What's Homeworld like?"

Lapis furrowed her brows. "What do you mean, 'what's it like'?"

"I mean, Earth is cool and all, but I kinda still wanna know. Ya know?" Amethyst said. "The others don't really like to talk about it."

Lapis had almost forgotten that Amethyst had never fought in the war, that she'd emerged late and spent centuries alone before the Crystal Gems had found her. She'd never served under a proper commander. She'd never developed the keen sense of duty any loyal Gem would've had. She'd never felt that unique sense of belonging a Gem could only experience among her own type.

She'd never been to Homeworld.

But considering she was off-color at best, that was probably a good thing for her. And for Homeworld, at that.

"It's... very different," Lapis said. "Nothing on Earth can compare to how elegant and majestic a sight Homeworld is. I'm not even sure how to begin to describe it."

"For starters, maybe you could tell me what you like best about it?"

"What I... like about it..." Lapis slowed to a complete halt, save for the regular wingbeats keeping her in midair. No one had ever sincerely asked her what she liked about Homeworld before, probably because no one had to. Everyone knew they were made for a specific purpose. Whether an individual liked their job or not was irrelevant to their performance.

How could she possibly explain it to someone who hadn't experienced it?

She couldn't. But she could show it.

Lapis raised her arm, and the ocean's water's rose with it.

Amethyst's already large eyes became even larger as the water formed a cylinder around them. Power surged through Lapis's gem as she focused, visualizing images in her mind and projecting them onto the walls.

Or trying to. The force from Amethyst's fake-mechanical form was making the surface rough and distorted.

Lapis glared at her.

The little quartz seemed to take the hint. There was a flash and Amethyst transformed back into her usual shape, falling and splashing into the ocean below. She treaded the water, staring up as Lapis made the walls darken, filling it with orbs that made up Homeworld's planetary system.

"Whoa. That's so cool!" Amethyst called from below.

Lapis shrugged and continued filling the image with tiny figures. They were stylized and simplistic, but recognizable as Gems. They travelled to and from different planets, seemingly busy, as Lapis explained, "I like how Homeworld made me feel. Secure. Safe. That no matter where I go, I'd always have a place in the hierarchy... a place where I belong." The view shifted, and some of the Gem figures flocked together. All in varying shades of blue. All winged. "I was always among like-minded company, with the other Lapis Lazulis. We took care of each other. We did almost everything together. We made sure none of us got into trouble or stepped out of line."

'Not that there were many opportunities for things to go off the rails when Homeworld always kept a watchful eye on everything,' Lapis didn't say aloud.

She raised the water higher, forming a dome above their heads. The 'sky' above turned a rich, deep blue, filled with a pattern of stars unfamiliar to this galaxy. "I also really like my job. I got to visit a lot of star systems, and they were all so different from each other. Not all planets had bodies of water as vast as this one, but the sights were beautiful. Each had different gravitational pulls too, which made working on each one a fun and new challenge."

Images of entire flocks of Lazulis, flying in formation across the sky, raising up waves that would tower over even a Diamond. Exposing vast tracts of previously submerged land, now perfect sites for fertile Kindergartens. Transforming the water into vast, glittering ice sculptures.

"It never was dull," Lapis continued. "Not that my job was boring. But then again, there's some comfort in knowing that no matter where I go, my purpose would always be the same..."

"Your purpose?" Amethyst tilted her head.

Lapis stood a little straighter in the air, stretching out her wings. "I'm a terraformer."

"What's a trerra... terrafarmer?"

"You know how I can move water, right?"

Amethyst nodded, still grinning at the water show around them.

"When Homeworld colonizes a planet, sometimes they need to drain out all the water to build something better in its place. That's what Lapis Lazulis are made for... what I was made for."

Amethyst stared at the ocean all around them. It seemed to sparkle in the setting sun. Below, its surface rippled every so often, a small sign of the life it held in its depths. Amethyst was frowning when she looked at Lapis again. "Sorry, but that sounds terrible."

"It's not. It just... is," Lapis lamely explained. "Every Gem, a duty; every duty, a Gem. That's just how things are back in Homeworld."

"Well, that's boring," Amethyst said. She leapt out of the water, instantly resuming her strange-flying shape. "I think I'd rather be whatever I wanna, when I wanna. Like how I was a cartwheel on the beach before, but now I'm a helicopter!"

That was all well and good for her, Lapis thought. Amethyst would never have been considered a strong enough warrior. But Lapis was one of the finest of her entire cut.

The 'helicopter' blades were disrupting the water's surface again. Lapis let go of her control on the dome, and it fell down around them like rain.

"Yeah, well..." Lapis shrugged. "It was home."

"But now?" Amethyst flew in front of her, curiously peering into her face.

"Now?" Lapis shot Amethyst a quizzical look, before realization hit her: She had used past tense in her previous statement. "I... don't know. I've been far from home for a really long time."

"Well you're here now." Amethyst gave her the widest, warmest beam Lapis had ever seen that wasn't from Steven. "Maybe Earth can be your new home!"

"Yeah. Sure." Lapis looked away, not at all enthused. She flapped her wings once, putting distance between her and the ocean. Between her and Amethyst. "It's getting dark. We should probably head back."

Lapis shot into the sky towards Beach City, not even bothering to see if Amethyst was following or not.


	33. Understanding

**Chapter Thirty-Three: Understanding**

Things were still… awkward with the Crystal Gems.

Or, no, that wasn't quite right, Greg thought. Steven and Amethyst got along like a house on fire, and his son seemed to be doing pretty well with the others, as far as Greg could tell. Pearl seemed to be a lot more relaxed around them as well, lately. Lapis… well, okay, Lapis still didn't like them, but Greg got the sense she just took a while to warm up to people in general.

No. Things were still awkward between _him_ and the Crystal Gems.

And that was mostly his fault.

Sure, there was a lot of stuff the Crystal Gems had done that Greg still wasn't okay with. But a lot of it had come out of a place of misunderstanding. And Greg had just piled more on that misunderstanding by rushing in without getting the facts.

He wanted to try clearing the air, but again… _awkward_.

So mostly, he'd just been avoiding the rebels as much as possible, and feeling vaguely guilty whenever they did interact. Which was… fairly often, since Steven was training with them these days.

That was where Steven was, at the moment. And Greg had made up his mind that he was going to go pick Steven up, even though it was only a five-minute walk away, and force himself to at least try to get the stuff off his chest.

He took a deep breath.

Yeah. He could do this.

That day's training was supposedly happening at the Crystal Gem base, but when he arrived… no one was there. He shouted at the stone door for a few minutes, feeling pretty stupid, not even sure if anyone inside could hear him. If they could, apparently nobody was bothering to open the door.

Dejected, he started back down out of the Temple. He felt stupid for trying to do this, and anxious, not knowing where Steven was. Had they just moved the lesson somewhere else in the city? Had they taken Steven somewhere else by warp pad? If so, Steven could be anywhere—

"Yo!"

Amethyst's shout could have scared Greg out of his skin, even if it hadn't been accompanied by her _landing on his head_.

"Looking for Steven, right?" Amethyst said, totally ignorant (or deliberately ignoring) Greg's surprise. It felt like there were talons digging into his scalp. "He's up there."

"Up where—" Greg glanced up, catching sight of a beak. "On the hand?"

"Yep!"

"Can I see?" Greg asked Amethyst. It was weird talking to someone sitting on his head as a bird.

"Sure," Amethyst replied. "Warning you, though. It's preeeettty boring."

She still carried Greg up there, turning into a more massive bird that holds him easily in massive talons. Greg tried not to yelp, from either the height or the undignified way she dropped him onto the hard stone.

Steven was sitting there, hands in his lap, eyes closed. Next to him was Garnet, in the same position, though her eyes were hidden behind her glasses. Rose Quartz was perched on the hand's fingers, leaning forward, seemingly enraptured.

She met his eyes, smiled, and pressed a finger to her lips. _Quiet_.

Greg nodded, and tried not to make any noise. It took about half a minute for him to start watching the waves instead. Amethyst was right: this was boring.

Thankfully, the lesson didn't last much longer. In a couple minutes, Steven had opened his eyes, blinked rapidly, then started explaining what he'd seen to Garnet— only to jump to his feet when he noticed Greg.

"Dad! Dad!" he cried, running up. "I saw the first people to move into Beach City!"

"Wow, Shtoo-ball." Greg patted the boy on the head. "Nice work!"

Steven chatted happily about the things he'd seen as they returned back to the ground-level via warp pad. Greg was very proud of how he managed to maintain his balance and keep himself from floating away.

"Ugh, finally," said Amethyst once the trip was over. She practically pulled Steven off the warp pad and into her room. "I've got stuff to show you."

"What kinda stuff?" asked Steven.

"Stuff!"

"Okay! Bye Dad, bye Rose! Thanks for the lesson, Garnet!"

"Bye—" Greg began. The Temple door closed.

He shook his head and chuckled. "Kids," he said.

The two Gems stared at him. Neither laughed.

Greg rubbed his neck.

"So, uh," he said. "Good lesson?"

"Yes," Garnet said. She adjusted her glasses. "I have to go."

Without another word, she too vanished into the Temple.

Now it was just him and Rose Quartz. Great.

"It really was an excellent lesson," said Rose Quartz, after a moment that stretched on just a little bit too long. "Steven's coming along very well. It's tricky, making sense of the time stream."

"Oh? Can you, uh, see the past or the future or whatever, too?"

Rose Quartz shook her head, making her braid bounce. "Oh, no. Garnet's just able to pass that ability to others, if she chooses."

"Oh. That sounds… fun?"

"It can be," Rose said, but there wasn't much enthusiasm in her voice. "I leave it to Garnet, for the most part. She's much more adept at navigating those visions than I'll ever be."

Greg nodded. He could get that. The thought that Blue— and now, his son— could see thousands and thousands of years into the past had always been kinda hard to wrap his head around. If Steven was able to share that power with others, Greg wasn't sure if he'd really wanna try it out.

Rose Quartz was watching him. He couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"So… well…" said Rose Quartz, "I should be…"

"No." Greg's fists clenched. He took a deep breath. "Before you go… uh, I just wanted to say sorry."

Rose Quartz tilted her head.

Greg's stomach was doing backflips. "Just… y'know, for going off on you like that, and uh… _Assuming_ things, and…"

Slowly, Rose Quartz smiled.

"And just… You know. Thanks," he added. "For helping Steven out."

"Well, _thank you_ ," she said. Her smile faded. "I probably could have… handled that better myself. I assumed you knew more than you did, and I let anger get the best of me."

"Heh. Yeah. Same here..." Greg's words petered off. His stomach may have calmed down a little, but it was still doing an acrobatics routine. "I guess I just... feel stupid now. All that time spent, uh, spying on you... I could tell that things weren't quite what they'd seemed, but I didn't really try very hard to find out why or how."

Rose took a hesitant step forward, then placed a light hand on Greg's shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up. It's not your fault for not understanding the situation."

He couldn't quite meet her eyes. "It kinda is. I never asked Blue to really explain this stuff, or Pearl, or you, and…" He blew out a frustrated breath.

"Blue Diamond has succeeded in deceiving millions of Gems for millennia." There was a gentle squeeze on Greg's shoulder. "Not surprising that she deceived you too."

Something inside Greg lurched uncomfortably. Part of it was the insult at Blue, still painful and uncomfortable. Part of it was… something else, something oddly familiar.

"What do you mean, 'not surprising'?" Greg asked.

Rose Quartz withdrew her hand, now wearing an expression like that of a very patient teacher. "Oh, just that the scope of these things are rather hard for humans to understand."

"Hard for _humans_ —?" Greg almost choked on the words. Incredulous, he asked, "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Well, just..." Rose Quartz smiled. "You're all so short-lived and cute and—"

Greg put up his hand. "Woah. Now hold up."

He was having very, very vivid flashbacks to years and years ago. Back when he'd only just met Blue, when their relationship had very much been in its 'puppy love' stage, when that initial infatuation had just begun to worn off, and insecurities had started to niggle in the back of Greg's brain.

Had Blue seen him as a real romantic partner, or just a fun, exotic alien?

It had been the latter, it'd turned out. That conversation where he'd confronted her about it had been one of the hardest ones of his life.

The way Rose Quartz was talking reminded him very much of Blue Diamond, back then. Not quite as bad, but…

"Look. I know us humans are pretty young compared to Gems," said Greg. "I _really_ do get it. But I want to make something clear: I am an adult, and I'm capable of discussing things on the same level as you."

"Oh, of course," Rose Quartz said, but there was amusement sparking in her eyes.

There was an uncharacteristic anger and frustration fizzing underneath Greg's skin. He clamped down on it before he said anything stupid.

Greg had nearly left then, that night of that talk with Blue. But he hadn't. She'd promised to do better, and she'd tried. It had been hard sometimes, but they'd found a way to make things work.

If he'd managed that with Blue Diamond, Queen of Homeworld, he had to be able to get it through the head of rebel-leader Rose Quartz, supposed protector of humanity.

"I managed to trick _you_ ," he said.

Rose Quartz blinked.

"For nearly two _years,_ I tricked you. I'd just been planning to watch you guys from a distance, but you saw me at a concert, and welcomed me into your lives with open arms. Pretty much anything I asked you about, you'd tell me."

Rose Quartz's mouth was hanging open. "I— er. Yes. I guess— I guess you're right. But how was I supposed to guess that you were spying on behalf of your half-Gem child?"

Greg shrugged. "Yeah, I don't think you coulda figured that out. But honestly, I kinda sucked at being a spy. Garnet realized there was something up with me, and White Pearl _definitely_ did."

Now Rose Quartz's mouth was closed again. Not in a frown, exactly, but something serious and thoughtful. She didn't say anything.

Greg heaved out a sigh, suddenly exhausted. "I…" He ran a hand through his hair. "Steven's half-human. You guys are teaching him now. And if you're gonna be doing that, I just… want to know that he's in the hands of people who will respect him. _All_ of him. Not just the parts he got from his mom."

There was a stunned silence.

"I… see," Rose Quartz said at length. Her hand was clutching at the hem of the dress, bunching it up tightly. "Mr. Universe, I…"

Her expression was… weird. Surprised, shocked, yeah, but also almost… scared?

Greg… wasn't sure how to respond to that. Blue'd gotten angry at this point.

"I'm… I'm sorry," said Rose Quartz.

She looked so pained that Greg was tempted to give her a comforting pat. "It's alright," he said, instead. "I get it. Things've been moving… really fast lately."

"Everything on Earth moves fast," Rose Quartz breathed.

Greg nodded. Blue and Pearl had both mentioned that to him, often.

"You've given me a lot to think about," said Rose Quartz. "I'll… try to do better."

"Hey, that's all we can ever do, right?"

At that, Rose Quartz offered him a wan smile.

"And hey… uh, look." Greg stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I was gonna go take Steven down to the pizza place to grab a bite. You… wanna come with? Bring Amethyst along, if you can fish her out of there." He paused. "Garnet and Pearl too, if they want to," he added, belatedly.

For a long moment, the Gem's expression was just one of blank surprise. Then a pleased smile spread. "That sounds… Nice, Mr. Universe."

"Eh, call me Greg."

"Greg." Rose spoke it gently, as if trying it out.

They did end up going for pizza, Garnet and Amethyst tagging along. It was delicious, and barely awkward at all.

* * *

Pearl's schedule settled back into one which, superficially at least, resembled the one she had back when they had been living in Korea. During Steven's days, she tended to his needs. During his nights, she worked on the drill.

It was still different, however. Greg and Steven assisted so readily with duties which had once been purely Pearl's own, and chores got finished much quicker. It left Pearl with an abundance of free time she wasn't entirely sure how to fill.

She spent some of it with Steven… but he, in turn, was often busy with Amethyst and his other new human friends. Though he never said as much, her presence during such times did not seem desired. Greg had said it was a 'kid thing': "They need their space, y'know?"

So Pearl found other things to occupy herself. She would often walk or explore or simply talk with Lapis. She investigated the town of Beach City, learning its layout and familiarizing itself with its various stores and services. She listened to Greg's extensive music collection, watched human television, and began learning how to play various card games.

Pursuing such frivolous distractions when there was a much more serious matter to attend to would have left Pearl feeling guilty, if not for the fact that the Renegade had the task well in hand. Every night, she found the drill more completed than when she had last left it.

It felt as if an enormous pressure had been relieved from her, leaving behind a giddiness she could scarcely express.

Pearl began to find a strange joy from the construction work she never had before. It was still difficult, but now each mistake did not fill her with dread. Not when there was someone to help fix them.

There was a sense of belonging she had missed as well. Working in synchronicity with another Pearl was fulfilling— even if it was on mechanics rather than song or dance.

It went beyond the odd, strained relationship she was forming with the Renegade. It was more the general atmosphere that accompanied working on a project as vital as the Drill. Pearl had come to rely on Lapis's aid in the work more than she had expected. To enjoy her dry comments, the way she would take on any task Pearl requested of her with a simple nod.

'Enjoy' was too strong a word to describe how she felt about the other Crystal Gems' efforts, but 'appreciate' may have sufficed. The fusion was mostly unobtrusive, but of great assistance with the heavy lifting. Rose Quartz readily confessed she was "hopeless with technology", but helped when asked and released a constant stream of compliments. Amethyst, meanwhile, was basically no use at all, but her constant litany of questions and antics could be oddly entertaining.

When one night, not a single one of them visited, even briefly, it was very noticeable.

They were not there the following night, either. It took several hours before Pearl brought herself to ask the Renegade about it.

She waved a hand as she worked out calculations. "They're on a mission. They should be back soon."

They were not back the next night. Or the night after that. Or even the next night after that.

Objectively, five Earth days was not a long time for a Gem. However, Pearl had not known for the Crystal Gems to leave on missions for such extended periods of time.

The Renegade pretended not to notice, but compared to any proper Court Pearl, she was very transparent. She would wring her hands when not otherwise occupied. Would chew at her lip. Would keep glancing at the warp pad, as if willing it to activate.

Eventually, the Renegade asked, "When you warped here— did you see any of them?"

"No," Pearl said.

"Just today? What about yesterday, or the day before?"

"No," Pearl said. "You're the only Crystal Gem I've seen." Not that she went looking for the Crystal Gems around Beach City. However, Steven had complained a number of times of being 'bored' lately, which suggested he hadn't seen Amethyst. Lapis had not mentioned seeing them either.

"Ah," said the Renegade. "I had just hoped…"

She shook her head, and returned to reinforcing the drill's hull.

Pearl considered saying something, but thought better of it.

For a while, at least. Some time passed, the two of them worked at welding. When they finished, and there was still no sign of the other Crystal Gems, Pearl asked, "What sort of mission are they attending to?"

"A simple artifact retrieval mission," the Renegade said. "Some distance from a warp pad, but not that far, surely…" She sighed, and muttered, "It'll be fine, I'm sure. If they needed my help, Garnet would have said so."

Pearl said nothing. She got the sense the other Pearl wasn't speaking to her.

Instead, she requested some help wiring the drill's gyros.

In fact, Pearl did not require much assistance with such a task. But it was fiddly, detailed-oriented work which required someone's full attention, and Pearl thought the Renegade much needed such a thing.

Even with two minds on the task, it took quite some time to unravel. By the time they'd finished and exited the drill, the sun's height told Pearl that it would be morning in Beach City proper. Steven would be awake by now.

Pearl hurried to the warp pad, and to her slight surprise, the Renegade followed. "Just a quick check..."

When they arrived in the cave of the Crystal Gem's base, it was empty. The Renegade turned and disappeared into the Temple without another word.

Pearl stared at the closed door for a moment, and then, with the slightest of shrugs, continued out of the cave's mouth and down the slope to the beach.

By the shore, she found the pink lion on the sand.

Lying beside him was Rose Quartz.

Pearl blinked at her. After a moment, she simply said, "Hello."

"Hello!" Rose Quartz chirped back. She held something out. It was small, soft, and mewing slightly. "Look what Bacon brought!"

It was a small cat. It had black fur, with patches of white on its ears and around its nose. Its eyes were closed tight.

There were two others. One was orange, and rolling around in the sand. The other grey, and being licked by the lion's tongue, which was almost larger than its entire body.

"Kittens," said Pearl. She glanced between them and the fully grown lion. "Did he… make them?"

"Oh, no," Rose Quartz said, not looking up from the cat she was cuddling, "Lion cubs are much larger. At least… I _think_ they are." She looked thoughtfully between the black kitten and the pink lion. " _Did_ you make these, Bacon?"

The lion let out a low rumble in reply.

"If only Steven was here, then he could tell us what they're all saying." Rose Quartz sighed.

"I'm going to the van. When I see him there, I'll ask him to come find you."

"Oh, he's not at the van," Rose Quartz said quickly, before Pearl could start off. "He came by earlier, looking for you."

So Pearl's absence at breakfast had been felt. She would have to be more careful in the future. She didn't want Steven worrying about where she went at night. "Where is he now?"

"He's with Garnet. She's giving him another lesson. I think Amethyst tagged along—"

"ROSE!"

The Renegade's voice cut through the air. A cloud of sand went up as she jumped down; a few of the cats meowed in protest.

"You're here!" the Renegade cried, rushing towards Rose. "You're alright! Where's Garnet and Amethyst? How'd the mission go? How long have you been back?"

"Pearl," Rose Quartz called, voice ringing with amusement as she got to her feet. "Yes, we're here, we're alright, the others are with Steven, the mission went fine, and we've been back since… oh, a bit since before dawn."

The Renegade seemed to deflate. "I… why didn't you come and _tell_ me?"

"I was going to, but then Bacon came and— look! He brought kittens!" Rose Quartz held the baby animal out for the Renegade to see. It licked at her nose.

The Renegade pushed the cat back— though more gently than Pearl would have expected— and sighed. She wore a very faint smile. "Oh, Rose…"

Rose Quartz cocked her head. "I'm sorry. Did I worry you?"

"A little," the Renegade confessed in a small voice.

Pearl shifted uneasily. She wasn't sure if she should be here right now, but saw no simple way of sneaking away.

"Well, you shouldn't. We can take care of ourselves."

"I know, I know— I'm just not used to sitting out missions…"

"You're working on a much more important mission." Rose Quartz laid a hand on the Renegade's shoulder, and brushed her lips against the Pearl's gem.

The two stood like there for a long (and for Pearl, _very_ awkward) moment, until the kitten in Rose Quartz's other hand started squirming and mewing indignantly. The other kittens were making quite a racket, too. Rose Quartz tried to shush them for some time, and then said, "I think they're hungry. They need milk!"

There was a brief debate about whether or not the lion would be able to make the milk. Eventually, the Gems came to the consensus that no, he couldn't, and with two kittens tucked into her arms, Rose Quartz set off in search of a grocery store. Bacon the lion trailed after her, the third kitten hanging from its mouth.

Pearl wondered if Rose Quartz had human currency with which to buy milk, and if not, what would happen. It was a faintly amusing image.

The Renegade was left standing in the sand, blinking at the departing Rose Quartz as she leapt over the fence and towards Beach City.

Pearl stepped softly towards her. "They never tell us."

The Renegade blinked at her, as if she'd forgotten the other Pearl was there. "Pardon?"

"They never tell us these sorts of things," Pearl repeated. When the Renegade still looked confused, she clarified: "Quartzes. Leaders. Superiors."

The Renegade straightened, eyes flashing and voice scornful when she said, "How are you still talking about _Rose_ like that?"

It was exactly the response Pearl had expected, and she had known it wouldn't be prudent to bait the Crystal Gem so. But still, she hadn't been able to stop herself, nor stop the wave of satisfaction she got at the Renegade's reaction.

"Because it's the _truth_ ," Pearl said. "You were worried about her and the other Crystal Gems for days, and once they finally return, they didn't even come to tell you."

"They didn't _know_ I was worried!" the Renegade cried.

Pearl raised her eyebrows. After five thousand years of serving together, and none of them had been able to predict how their Pearl would be feeling?

The Renegade ignored her expression. "Besides," she said, "they were _going_ to tell me. Garnet and Amethyst had... other duties to attend to. And Rose... got distracted."

"By cats," said Pearl.

"Yes, by cats!" the Renegade spluttered. "Rose likes cats! It's utterly baffling to me too, but she's always been attracted to the flora and fauna of this planet! It's just one of her little quirks, seeing the beauty in these things—"

"I don't think it's baffling," Pearl said.

The Renegade seemed so surprised by the interruption, that she let Pearl continue.

"We Pearls are attractive and alluring," said Pearl, "but when we're not performing, no one pays us any mind. Their focus is on other, more important things."

"That is not what happened here," the Renegade said, sticking her nose high in the air.

Pearl let out the smallest of snorts. "Believe what you wish," she said, "but perhaps re-consider proselytizing when not even your beloved _leader_ practices what she preaches."

"Don't you talk like that about _Rose_!" The Renegade's cheeks had gone a vivid blue. "She fought for this planet. She fought for _me_. She fought for all of our freedom! Just because she gets _distracted_ sometimes doesn't mean that... that..."

"That what? That she'll just forget about you, like some trinket?"

The Renegade opened her mouth, but Pearl wasn't finished yet.

There was something in the core of her being, something that had been building up for some time, and suddenly, unexpectedly, bursting out. Making her fists clench and her legs quake and her voice rise up and up.

"That she'll just— leave you working on some drill, expect you to be able to save an entire planet, and not offer any assistance, just assume you'll do it? For making her your entire life, then just leaving you? For doing whatever she wants, and never even considering that you might want something _different_?!"

The Renegade stared at her, jaw hanging open. Pearl stood there, prepared for her counterattack.

And then the Renegade _laughed._

Pearl winced, having expected anything, anything but that.

But it wasn't angry or scornful laughter. It was… happy?

"You yelled at me!" The Renegade said. "You actually yelled at me! You _raised your voice_!"

"I— yes," Pearl said, that strange rush of energy already draining.

The Renegade slapped her on the shoulder, and Pearl nearly flinched away. "I didn't know you had it in you!"

 _I didn't either_ , thought Pearl.

Pearl wasn't sure what had possessed her to start yelling at the Crystal Gem and possibly disrupt their fragile peace, but the Renegade Pearl was grinning as if it was the greatest thing she had ever heard.

"We'll make a rebel of you yet," the Renegade said.

"Don't be so certain."

The Crystal Gem just laughed, turned her back, and set off back towards the Temple.

Pearl shook her head, and went to find Steven.


	34. Visions

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Visions**

"Focus your thoughts. Visualize it in your mind."

Garnet folded her arms and watched Steven slowly turn around in place, his eyes shut tight. Training had been going on for a while now, but even with Blue Pearl 'coincidentally' running into them, the boy seemed to show little desire of quitting for the day or even taking a break. Garnet herself had to insist that he eat some of the food that Blue Pearl had left for him.

He certainly didn't lack enthusiasm for his training, that was for sure. Garnet smirked to herself. Maybe there was something in him Pearl could appreciate after all.

"I… I think I can see it," Steven said. He pointed to one of the empty benches on the boardwalk. "I can see the guy with the eyepatch eating his bagel."

Garnet nodded, before remembering that Steven couldn't see her. She said, "Yes. Good work."

Steven opened his eyes. He blinked before finally refocusing on his immediate surroundings. He turned back towards Garnet. "It was a lot more clear that time," he said. "I could really see things a lot clearer now. Like I was able to notice the faces of other people passing by. Just like you said I'd be able to."

"You've made a lot of progress in fairly short amount of time," Garnet said. "That's impressive."

Garnet thought she could note just the slightest bit of color creep into Steven's cheeks. "Thanks. I'm just glad you're not getting annoyed with me or… anything."

"I live with Amethyst."

That actually managed to elicit a small smile from him. "Okay, yeah. But I was thinking more about other people- Gems- that you've taught."

Garnet was quiet for a moment, her mind briefly returning to some of her students from the past; a pair of Morganites that had fled their lab, a kind Topaz who had had deep reservations about hurting others, a Tourmaline whose ferocity still amazed Garnet…

They, and many others, had proven a special effort, but the feeling Garnet felt when each of them looked at themselves with pride… It assured her it was all worth it.

Steven wasn't quite like them, to be sure. But Garnet could see shades of each of them within him.

"You have certainly proven to be a unique case," Garnet answered simply.

"Because of my powers?" Steven asked.

"In a sense," Garnet answered. "Past vision is a rare Sight. But even then, its difference from future vision is largely superficial. The true difference is in your heritage."

Steven's face crinkled. "You mean… that I have a diamond?"

"No," Garnet answered. "That you're a human, but also have a gem."

"Oh," Steven said, his posture loosening a little. "Yeah. I guess I'm the first one you've seen, huh?" He laughed, though it sounded stiff.

"You are," Garnet answered. She paused for a moment, before continuing, "And I've learned that the rules don't quite apply to you as they do to other Gems."

Steven tilted his head to the side. "Really?"

"Yes," Garnet nodded. "In hindsight, that should have been more obvious when we first encountered each other."

"At the fountain," Steven said heavily.

Garnet nodded again. "You surprised me there."

Steven looked at her skeptically. "You were waiting for us."

She gave a brief head-shake. "I was waiting for Blue Pearl and Lapis. I had no idea you would be there."

"You couldn't See me?" His forehead furrowed. "Cuz I'm half-human?"

"Indirectly," said Garnet. "Because I did not know you. Now that I do, I can See you just fine."

"Oh." He didn't sound wholly pleased. Garnet supposed that was fair.

She would have preferred to let this subject drop as well, but she felt that as his teacher, there was something important they had to discuss. "At the fountain, you punched me."

"Oh, yeah…" Steven said, shuffling his feet. "I… kinda forgot that…"

His lie didn't sound particularly convincing, something else he had in common with Pearl. Though, considering all that had happened, Garnet supposed she couldn't hold his reluctance to relive that memory against the boy. That was far from the ideal introduction. On both their parts.

"That surprised me," Garnet said. "Not just because I didn't See it coming, but because you'd seemed reluctant to engage beforehand."

Steven looked down, and mumbled, "I don't really know how to fight…"

"But you fought anyway, to protect your friends," Garnet said, putting deliberate warmth into her voice. "I am curious as to whether you always display such strength however."

"Uh… I dunno? I don't think so."

This did not surprise Garnet. She had not observed or heard anything to the contrary.

"Your emotions gave you the power to throw me away," said Garnet.

"What do you mean?"

"From what I've observed, your powers are tied to your emotions," Garnet said. She expected Steven to say something in response, but he was silent, though he seemed to be thinking to himself. "The Fountain wasn't the only example I've seen," Garnet said. "When you accompanied us on our mission, and you grew frustrated with all the talking around you-"

"I started sparking," Steven finished for her.

Garnet nodded. "Yes."

Steven spoke, though he still kept his eyes averted, "That's happened a lot in my life," he said. "I'd get angry or sad or just… _upset,_ and everything started flashing blue…" He looked up at her. "Dad and Pearl taught me ways to help. Breathing techniques and counting backwards and stuff to help me calm down."

"A smart decision," Garnet said, omitting the fact that Blue Pearl was probably very familiar with Blue Diamond's powers.

"Is that common in other Gems?" Steven asked. "Powers and emotions mixing like that, I mean."

"It's not unheard of," Garnet answered. "A Sapphire letting her fear freeze her feet to the ground, or a Ruby letting her anger burn those around her." Garnet pushed the memories out of her mind. "But, in your case, the connection seems much more far reaching."

Steven frowned back at the ground. He spoke almost to himself, "Is it because of my gem? Or because I'm also part human?"

"That I can't say," Garnet responded. "No Gem knows the complete depths of a Diamond's powers. And your nature as a hybrid makes things even more… uncertain."

Steven glanced down the boardwalk. There were a pair of human teenagers eating ice cream, a man chatting into his phone. Seeing them, Steven rubbed his arms, and looking back at her. "So… is it bad? That I'm like this?"

"It is what it is."

He crossed his arms, clearly unsatisfied. "So I have to be angry or sad to do _anything_?"

"Not anything," Garnet reminded him. "Your vision powers are independent of your emotions."

"Yeah." He paused. "Still."

Garnet suppressed a sigh. In honesty, Steven Universe's reliance on negative emotions worried her too. But she didn't think that would help any of them.

"Sadness and anger are not inherently wrong," she said. "They tell you if something's wrong. They're a natural reaction to fighting, and can serve you well.

"However," Garnet added, "they can still be harmful. If they react unexpectedly, your powers could fail you when you need them the most. That is why we must aim for control."

"Yeah." Steven sighed heavily. "Well," he said, giving a Garnet a wavering smile, "guess it's a good thing I've got a teacher, huh? So no one has to get hurt."

"That you want no one to get hurt is good," Garnet said. "It can be a lesson even some Gems have trouble with, unfortunately."

"Really?"

"When you are told, all your existence, that you are merely a sum total of your rank and powers, eventually it can become difficult to see yourself as anything else." Garnet shook her head, again pushing away some unpleasant memories. "It can be easy to see your powers as the most important part of you. And that you must use them whenever you can, to their fullest."

"But isn't it good, to help people, whenever you can?"

"If you're actually helping people," Garnet said. "If you're not hurting yourself in the process."

Steven made a strangled noise in the back of his throat.

Several moments of silence followed.

Steven asked, "Garnet, can I ask you a question?" Garnet nodded. "The way you and the other Crystal Gems summon weapons. Is that something anyone could learn?"

Garnet considered the question. "You've never summoned a weapon before."

"No, no! I haven't!" he said, shaking his head frantically "Pearl told me that only soldie- Gems like Quartzes and Rubies could summon weapons. But then I saw Pearl-ssi summon a weapon and it was pretty cool and, well, I was wondering…" He trailed off.

"There are some limits," Garnet said. "Certain Gems, especially those involved with terraforming, rarely have the spare energy in their gem to be able to summon and maintain a weapon. But otherwise, yes. Any Gem has the potential."

"Including me?"

Garnet paused, before answering. "It's unlikely a Diamond wouldn't be able to summon and maintain a weapon."

"You don't know for sure?"

"I've never seen a Diamond's weapon."

"Oh," Steven said, voice tinged with disappointment. "Okay."

"You've never _tried_ before, though," Garnet stated.

"No, I haven't."

"Perhaps you should," Garnet suggested.

Steven nodded slowly, before taking Garnet's full meaning. "You mean right now?" Garnet nodded. "Are you sure?"

"Summoning your weapon is just another facet of your powers," Garnet said. "And that is what we're here to practice."

Steven gave a tight grin. "Yeah we are. So… what do I do exactly? This isn't like my Sight where it's sort of just happened on its own."

In response, Garnet raised her hands, clenched them into fists, and in a swirl of light they were covered by her gauntlets. "It's about focus, drawing the energy from your gem, and then releasing it."

"Okay," Steven said. He took a breath and closed his eyes, a strained expression spreading across his face. After a few seconds, he asked, "Is anything happening?"

"No."

He scrunched his face up even more, also laying a hand on his chest. "Now? Any glow or anything?"

"Nothing."

Steven opened his eyes and pulled down the next of his shirt, revealing the top of the blue diamond.

(Garnet could feel her form tighten, her instincts crying out to summon her weapons to defend herself.)

 _No. He is not Blue Diamond. She is_ gone _._

Steven was looking down at his gem wistfully. "I didn't feel anything. I didn't feel any energy _to_ focus," he said.

"You can harness your gem's energy," Garnet said steadily. "You're able to use your other powers."

"Come on, there's gotta be something else to it!"

"Link your mind with all existing matter. Channel all the collective power into your gem, coalescing it into a manifestation of your very will."

Steven blinked at her.

Garner resisted a smirk. "You asked."

Steven was silent for a few seconds, still looking at his gem, before straightening his shirt and looking back at Garnet. "Could my emotions be playing a role in this? Like, blocking it or something?"

"Possibly," Garnet answered. "Even without that, there are many different techniques to summon a weapon. It is possible that your emotional state could be playing a larger role in it."

"Great." Steven sighed. "So _now_ all I need is complete mastery of my emotions in able to have the full control of my powers…"

"As far as summoning weapons are concerned," Garnet said, "Talking to Pearl may be the best idea. Quartzes and even Rubies tend to have an easier time summoning their weapons. Pearl, however, took much practice and refinement before she had mastered it."

Steven nodded slowly. The idea of asking Pearl for help clearly made him uncomfortable, but despite that he still said, "Okay. Well, next time I see Pearl-ssi, I'll ask her."

"For now," Garnet continued, "let's try some more practice with your Sight."

"Okay." Steven inhaled and then exhaled. "What should I look for?"

"Something I can offer less direction with," Garnet answered. "Gaze through your Sight, and tell me the last time Amethyst was on the boardwalk."

Steven had barely closed his eyes before he was Seeing, slowing turning around to look at all he could. Garnet folded her arms across her chest to wait, though not before lightly taking Steven's shoulder and moving him over, so he was in no danger of misstepping off the boardwalk.

"Two days ago," Steven said. "She was hanging out with Connie."

"You didn't hear what they could say?"

Steven opened his eyes, blinking quickly. "Not exactly. But they hugged and walked off looking happy."

"Good." He hadn't been able to hear anything, but finding the vision so quickly was still impressive.

Steven himself allowed a satisfied smile. "Should we do another vision?"

Garnet glanced at the sun's position above them. "I think not. If we go for much longer, we're likely to have another visitor."

"Yeah," Steven chuckled. "Pearl bringing dinner. Or, she brings _me_ to dinner."

He meant it as a joke, but Garnet had little doubt that's exactly what would happen if they continued for much longer. "We'll pick this up for our next lesson."

"Okay," Steven said. "I'll be sure to practice my focusing."

"Good. Because next time, we're going to try a busier area."

Steve nodded, and began to turn- but seized by a sudden urge, Garnet bent down, and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You're making good progress. You should be proud."

Steven smiled.

The two parted, Steven jogging off back towards Greg's RV. Garnet lingered for a moment, watching Steven go, before heading back towards the Temple, already trying to make a mental list of possible places to take Steven for his next training session.

She'd had her reservations… but it looked like this was working out, after all.

* * *

When Steven got back to the van, there were _kittens_.

Rose had brought them to the RV, and Bacon had brought them to _her_. She was very curious about where he had got them in the first place; it was fairly uncomfortable explaining how the lion had found them abandoned in a box in a snowstorm. (Steven resolved to ask Bacon, later, how he could have gone somewhere it was snowing.) Rose Quartz, ferocious rebel leader, had gotten all misty eyed at that, crooning about how terrible it was.

By now, Pearl had bundled them all up in blankets in a basket, but Steven picked one up and held her close to his chin. She was tiny and black and so young she couldn't even open her eyes yet, but she could feel his warmth and began to knead at his chest with tiny paws. Steven let out a giggle.

The cats were all mewing, but Steven couldn't understand them, at least not the way he could understand adult animals. Their communication was too basic to be considered a language of any sort.

But he still got… something, from them. Not words. More like, pure feelings. _Hungry. Sleepy. Cold._

Steven petted the kitty once, then tucked her carefully back in among the warm blankets with her siblings.

"Can we keep them?" Steven asked Pearl.

"We'll have to ask your father," Pearl said.

But not ten minutes later, Dad was already pumping the breaks on the idea. "Woah, woah. We're not adopting five cats!"

"But they're kittens," Steven said. "They're small! And helpless!"

"They'll _grow_ into full-size cats!" said Dad. "They'll need lots of care and training, and you can't expect me and Pearl to do most of it."

"I won't need to train them. When they grow up, I can just talk to them and tell them to do their business outside and stuff."

"Telling a cat what to do isn't the same as convincing them to do it," Dad said. Rose laughed, while Bacon seemed to almost side-eye Steven.

Steven had more protests, but Dad was convinced. It would be a lot of extra responsibility; there wouldn't be enough room in the van; each cat deserved a home where they could get all the attention they deserved.

Steven supposed that was fair. With nothing else to do, he set out to find the kittens homes.

Rose decided to come along.

That was… something. Steven still hadn't spent a lot of time alone with Rose Quartz. Though, even now he wasn't completely alone. Bacon accompanied them, and translating between the lion and the Gem proved to be a good distraction.

They met a lot of people that day. Beach City was a pretty small town, but even so, Steven found it pretty draining to talk to so many strangers.

It didn't intimidate Rose Quartz however. It _invigorated_ her. She'd immediately start chatting with every person they came across. She could spin a conversation out of anything, apparently- how nice a person's hairstyle was, or the shape of a cloud overhead, or what the logo on their shirt meant- but mostly about the kittens. How cute they were, possible name ideas, and how _useful_ they would be at protecting crops from rodents.

Steven got the sense that a number of people mostly agreed to adopt a kitten because letting down a very excited Rose Quartz was a very daunting prospect indeed.

"If you like cats so much," Steven asked, at one point, "why don't you take one in yourself?"

"Oh, I'd love to!" Rose smiled, before sighing thoughtfully. "But the others won't let me adopt any more pets."

"Let you?" Steven said. Wasn't Rose Quartz the Crystal Gem's leader? And then… "Wait, how about Bacon?"

"Oh, Bacon does as he pleases," Rose said, at the same time that Bacon, head high in the air, said, " _The Gems do not control me._ "

They carried on, only two kittens left to adopt, but with far less success. Now it was getting dark, and with the few tourists drifting away and local families settling in for dinner, people were less willing to talk. They lost at least one adoption because Amethyst snuck into the basket, took the form a tiny purple kitten, and screamed in a little boy's face just as he picked her up.

(Steven wanted to be mad… but had to admit that it _had_ been pretty funny.)

Eventually they came to Onion's house. It was hard to tell, since Onion didn't usually speak aloud, but judging from how large his eyes got, Steven sensed that he might have been turned off a bit by Rose's sheer exuberance.

But Steven spoke to him, and then to his mother, who insisted he just call her Vidalia. She was skeptical about taking on another pet, but Steven had asked nicely, and Rose had fluttered her eyelashes, and Amethyst had called her chicken, and that seemed to do the trick.

By then, they were left with just the black kitten. It was fully dark out, and Steven's feet were sore and his stomach rumbling, so he said good night to the Crystal Gems and headed home.

The evening was nice and quiet. Steven and his Dad enjoyed a nice meal of spaghetti, while Pearl cradled a cup of jasmine tea. Lapis tentatively held the kitten, and had to be reassured when it started 'vibrating' at her. Afterwards, they played some cards. It was nice having bigger groups so more games were available, even if Pearl and Lapis won a lot because they had great poker faces.

Soon enough, though, it was time for bed. Steven didn't complain. After such a long day, he was exhausted.

That didn't stop him waking, an unknown time later, covers tangled around him covered in sweat.

Steven stared around in confusion, breathing heavily. He couldn't tell what time it was, only that it was dark. The only sounds was his Dad's snoring and a mewing from the van's kitchen area.

Escaping from his sheets, Steven padded to the kitchen tables. "You woke me up," he told the kitten.

The kitten mewed, uncomprehending.

Steven sighed, and patted the little cat's head. It wasn't her fault, and he knew it.

He'd had a nightmare. He couldn't remember this specific one clearly, but he didn't have to. He'd experienced enough variations of it before.

Rubbing his arms, Steven considered snuggling in with his Dad, and immediately rejected it. He wasn't a little kid anymore.

… Besides, It felt like it would be a weird thing to talk about with him, these days.

He kinda wished Pearl was here, though. Or Lapis. But they didn't seem to be around.

Steven yawned. He was tired- a heaviness in his limbs, and a weariness in his mind- but the thought about going back to bed was entirely unappealing. Still, he didn't just want to stand here, petting the kitten, and otherwise alone with his thoughts.

He grabbed his sketchbook, his pencil case, and snuck out of the van, careful to shut the door quietly behind him so as not to wake Dad.

* * *

Of the many innumerable things Rose loved about the planet Earth, one of her favourites was the planet's rapid cycling between day and night. It was the perfect encapsulation of this ever-changing place. Beginning the day with a bright, beautiful dawn; watching the sun creep ever higher in the sky, warming the ground beneath them; it sinking down towards the horizon, casting long shadows; the dramatic colors of twilight; and finally, the calm peace of night.

That was what she enjoyed now, as she meandered down the beach. Occasionally she'd go to the ocean's edge, letting the cold water tickle her feet. The tide was low, leaving the beach bare. Various small crabs were taking advantage of this time to scurry across the sand. Rose paused to watch them go about their business. What would it be like, to see the world from their perspective?

She picked one up, delighting in the feel of its many tiny legs across her skin. She let it run back onto the sand, and as she stood, she saw the figure sitting a ways down the beach.

Her first thought was that it was Amethyst; as she got closer, she saw the shape and size didn't quite match. She approached, half-floating, and the shadow resolved itself. It was Steven, sitting on the sand, drawing something in that book he often carried with him.

"Hello, Steven," she said.

It was like he'd been struck by an electric shock. He yelped, practically jumping into the air, dropping his book and pencil as he spun to face her.

"R-Rose!" he squeaked out. "Uh, hi! I- you surprised me."

"Yes, I can see that," Rose said, perplexed by his reaction. "Why are you awake? I thought you slept at night time."

He clambered to pick up his book, hugging it closely to his chest. "Usually. But, uh, I was having trouble."

Rose cocked her head. "Oh dear. I didn't know humans could have trouble with that."

"No, we can. If we're feeling sick, or thinking 'bout stuff, or… or having bad dreams…"

Rose nodded. She'd indulged in sleep many times in her life, only to be woken up by her worst memories, replayed and twisted.

Interesting, that humans experienced the same thing. She'd thought it might have been a problem with her.

Steven's eyes were wide, showing their whites in the darkness, so Rose decided to steer the conversation to more pleasant pastures. She sat down on the sand with a sweep of her dress, so she could be closer to eye level with the child. "I'm surprised it's bright enough for you to draw."

He shrugged. "It's a full moon."

"So it is," said Rose. A particularly lovely one too, she noted. "What were you drawing?"

"Uh-"

Rose raised a hand. "Don't feel pressured to show me. I know artists can feel anxious about these kinds of things. But I'd love to see it once it's finished."

Steven said nothing. Just stared at her.

He was acting quite oddly, Rose thought. She simply couldn't determine why, or what she could do to put him more at ease.

She put on her softest, most relaxed smile, on the basis that it couldn't hurt. She stretched out her legs, and admired how the moonlight reflected on the waves. Steven stood there, watching her, barely moving.

Eventually he squeaked out, "Did- did you want something?"

"No, not particularly," Rose said, feeling her braid swing from side to side as she shook her head. "I simply enjoy moonlit walks. I spotted you here, and thought we could- 'hang in', is it?"

"Hang out," said Steven.

"That's it," said Rose. "Oh, human turns of phrase are so wonderfully odd. We're not 'hanging' in any way. And while I suppose we are outside, the term can also refer to time inside buildings as well… I wonder how it came about?"

Steven shrugged.

Rose would be lying to say she wasn't a little bit disappointed by the silence on his part. She knew the half-human could be quite conversational- the time with his family, or Amethyst, or even his lessons with Garnet. But he always seemed so subdued when she was present.

More than subdued, she realized, watching him surreptitiously. His rigid posture; how tightly he held his book; the amount of space he had left between them.

"Steven," Rose said, frowning, "Do I frighten you?"

He jerked, which was confirmation enough.

Keeping her voice as soft as possible, she said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"You didn't _mean_ to?" Steven repeated, and there was an edge of anger to his voice.

Rose's frown deepened as she tried to puzzle this out. After a moment or so, the answer presented itself. "I see," she said. "You're still hurting from when I held you captive."

"No. That's- that's not it."

"Then can you tell me what _is_ wrong?" The boy said nothing, eyes fixed stubbornly on the sand beneath him. "Please, Steven. If it is possible, I would like us very much to be friends. If there is any way I can fix what's upsetting you, then I want to know how."

Steven shook his head.

Rose said nothing else, just watched him. He was breathing hard. He closed his eyes, and after a long moment, opened them again, fixing her with a glare. Then he turned his gaze to his drawing book, flipping it open with trembling hands.

He shoved the open book at her.

The picture there was just a half-formed sketch, and as she thought, difficult to make out in the pale moonlight. Despite that, the drawing was clear enough, and Rose Quartz recognized it instantly.

It was her.

It was her. Hair a billowing cloud, her eyes fierce, her blade drawn as she thrust it up, up. Her opponent's body was just a sketch, but the face had been drawn in exquisite detail, perfectly capturing the astonished horror on Pink Diamond's face.

Rose stared at it.

"That's why I couldn't sleep," Steven said. He didn't sound angry anymore. Just tired. "I was dreaming about _that_. I've had dreams about it for years. I lived only a couple minutes walk from Pink's Palanquin. Every time I went there… I…"

Rose's mouth opened into a little ' _o_ ' of horror.

Steven ran a hand through his hair. "And I know- I mean, Dad told me that you told him about the kind of stuff my Mom did, and I guess Pink Diamond must've done too. And that she was gonna, gonna take over the Earth. But-" his voice warbled. "She was in **_pain_**. Isn't there- You were trying to be _better_ than her. Isn't there any way you could have made **_peace_**?"

She could only half-hear his voice. It was drowned out by the sickening clash of metal in the distance, the shrieks of fear from Pink's court- the stark realization that soon this would all be over-

"I don't know," Rose confessed.

"What?" Steven demanded.

"I don't know," Rose repeated. She stared down at the picture in her hands. "I've wondered about that, again and again and again. Was there anything I could have done differently? Something I could have said, an argument I could have made?

"In four thousand years, I haven't been able to think of anything," she said, very aware of Steven Diamond Universe's eyes fixed on her. "I tried to talk to Pink Diamond… and she dismissed my ideas out of hand. I tried to organize peace accords, but Homeworld wouldn't hear any of it. I tried to overwhelm them with sheer numbers, but the empire's numbers were just so huge… All it did was make them press back stronger.

"In their minds, Earth belonged to Pink Diamond. As long as she lived, they would never relinquish it." Rose Quartz closed the book. "Shattering… was the only way."

Waves echoed across the empty beach. Rose continued, slowly, "I never wanted it to be like this."

"So…" Steven's voice trembled. "You're… sorry you did it?"

"No," said Rose, firmly. "I'm not."

Steven's breath hitched.

Rose let out a sharp breath, her eyes beginning to burn. "Isn't that _awful_?" she asked. "But it's true. I'm not sorry. She's gone and she can't hurt anyone anymore."

She glanced at the boy, his grey skin and bright blue eyes serving as markers to his heritage. Though she had kept such thoughts to herself, Rose _was_ ultimately glad for Steven's existence.

One more Diamond, who could never lay a harmful hand on anyone else.

Rose took a moment to gather herself before going on, "But even if she can't, the other Diamonds can, and did. I'm sorry for _that_. I should have realized that they wouldn't just... give up. Wouldn't let the shattering of a Diamond lie. The culprit had to be punished.

"And maybe I do deserve punishment," Rose said. "But… I never received it. They didn't hurt _me_. If I'm sorry for anything, it's for what happened after. How they hurt everyone else. For the monsters they made… for the other Gems on Homeworld, still enslaved…"

Something dripped onto the book in her lap with a splash. Rose realized she was crying in earnest now. She hurriedly wiped the cover on her dress, and held it out to Steven. "Sorry."

Steven took a cautious step towards her, and took the book back. "Rose… I…"

He said nothing else, completely at a loss.

"Everything used to seem so simple," Steven said.

Rose nodded.

She could remember times like that. A time when she followed her duties, to find peace and comfort from them. And a time again, later, after she and Pearl had first run away. Where they could fill their days with whatever they liked, exploring the Earth's wonders. When it had felt as though they could accomplish anything.

She rubbed her eyes.

Steven patted his pockets, and held out a little blue bag. Rose blinked at it.

"They're tissues," said Steven, quickly pulling out some wispy white pieces of paper. "Here."

"Thank you," Rose said, doing her best to wipe away the tears.

"You're, uh, welcome."

Rose held the wad of soaked tissues by the tips of her fingers. What was she supposed to do now? She could hardly just drop them on the sand, yet carrying them around in her hand was so messy.

(Oh dear. She sounded like Pearl.)

"I can take them," Steven said, holding his palm out flat with another tissue across it.

"Are you sure?" Rose asked.

"Yeah." Steven shrugged. "I mean, I should be going back to bed anyway, and I can throw it out in the van, so…"

Rose hesitated, and then carefully dropped the used tissues into his hand. Steven wrapped it up, and shoved it awkwardly into his pocket along with the unused bag of them. He glanced down the beach, towards where Mr. Universe's car wash was, and made an awkward shuffle towards it.

"I'm sorry," Rose said, not entirely sure what specifically she was apologizing for. Perhaps all of it.

"I'm sorry too," Steven mumbled. "I shouldn't have… dragged this all out…"

Rose stood up. "No, no. Don't apologize for that. You deserved an explanation. I hope I gave you a good one."

Steven turned back to her. Staring.

"I didn't think you'd be like this," he said.

"Like what?"

"Like..." He waved his hand at her in a vague sort of way. "I thought you were just… some bloodthirsty murderer. I didn't think you'd cry, or grow orange trees, or hang out with lions…"

"Yes, well," Rose said, eyes flickering briefly to the tip of a blue diamond poking out from beneath the hem of the boy's shirt. "I suppose we've both learned that appearances can be deceiving."

"Yeah. I guess so." He gave a small, watery smile, one that was interrupted by a long yawn.

"Time for sleep?" Rose asked.

"Yeah. Time for sleep. Goodnight, Rose."

"Goodnight, Steven."


	35. Movie Night

**Chapter Thirty-Five: Movie Night**

"Come on, Lapis! It'll be fun!"

Pearl looked over her shoulder, turning her attention from the row of pillows she had carefully prepared to watch Steven's attempts to convince Lapis to stay.

The corners of Lapis's mouth tightened as she spoke, "I don't know, Steven. This doesn't really seem like it's... for me."

Steven's posture loosened a bit. "Well, if you don't want to stay, you don't _have_ to," he said. "But I just think it'd be a lot of fun if we were all here together."

Lapis pursed her lips. Pearl quickly looked away, finishing laying out the pillows on top of the blanket as Lapis called to her.

"Are movies _really_ that fun?" Lapis asked.

Pearl rose from where she had been kneeling and turned towards the two of them. "They are an experience," she answered honestly. "And, most tend not to be overly long."

In truth, most of the movies Pearl had seen never appealed much to her. They mainly dealt with human stories and she found it difficult to engage with those purely on their own (save for a handful of exceptions).

But Steven, on the other hand, _loved_ movies, and he loved sharing them with both Pearl and Greg. So while Pearl often found films themselves uninteresting, the way Steven's face would light up as he'd recount to her his favorite parts of what they'd just watched always made the experience worthwhile.

Lapis folded her arms across her chest, looking past Pearl, past the bed of blankets and pillows that had been made on the grass, and instead out over the cliffside to the distant Beach City. She was silent for several moments, before dropping her arms to her sides and relenting. "Alright." She sighed. "I guess there's no reason not to give it a chance."

Steven cheered in excitement. "Yes! You won't regret this, Lapis. I promise!"

Lapis shot Pearl a sideways look before responding, "Yeah. Hopefully."

Pearl was going to speak, to offer assurance to Lapis, but she was cut off by the sound of the RV's door opening and Greg loudly scolding their newest guest.

"Hey! Easy there, kitty," he said, the kitten squirming in his grasp. "Steebo, can you take him?" Steven did as he was told, taking the infant cat in his arms and whispering soft meows into its ear. A moment later, the kitten calmed down and nestled its head in the crook of Steven's arms.

Greg, however, just shook his head. "We _really_ need to find a home for that little scamp."

"I know, Dad," Steven said, still lightly petting the kitten. "I'm going to pick up the search again tomorrow."

Pearl was quietly thankful for that. While she didn't hold any great disdain for the animal, it was more of a nuisance than anything; often getting into things and places it shouldn't and just prone to making a mess with its unheeded exploration of the RV.

"Luckily, I was able to get her this time before she knocked over anymore plates," Greg said. "Oh! That reminds me." He turned towards Lapis. "Ya did good job getting us up here. Not a thing was displaced when you set us down." He smiled one of those genuine smiles Greg was so casual with. "Honestly, the kitten makes more of a mess."

Pearl agreed. She had been privileged to see many Lazulis work their trade over bodies of water, big and small. But Pearl wondered if any of them had the same kind of fine control over their powers that Lapis did.

Pearl made a mental note to say as much to Lapis later. No doubt she would enjoy the compliment, though only if the two of them were alone.

For now, Lapis simply regarded Greg with a general sense of surprise. "You're welcome."

"It was so cool!" Steven added gleefully, tugging on Lapis's arm. "The way you surrounded the RV with water and then just floated us up here…" He trailed off, slowly turning around. "Though, Dad… When you said 'family barn', I was kinda expecting something more, uh..."

Greg chuckled. "Yeah. Guess it'd been longer than I thought since I'd been up here."

Pearl spared a glance at the dilapidated mess behind them. Much human architecture seemed ill-constructed compared to Homeworld's elegance, but this wooden shack truly was on another level.

She recalled Greg having mentioned 'the barn' in the past as a sort of gathering point for his family, though it had been a long time since he had attended any such gatherings. This seemed an odd choice to Pearl, who understood barns to be a place for storing grain, animals, and farm equipment. But judging from the barn's state, Pearl was inclined to think it had been long since it had been used for its intended purpose in any form.

At least it seemed as though there might be some mechanical equipment inside which could be useful for the Drill.

"If we make coming up here a regular thing, we'll need to fix the place up," Greg said, eying the barn. "Shouldn't be too much-"

"Wait," Lapis interrupted. "You said this place... this 'barn' had been yours for years now?"

"Er, well in the sense that the barn _belongs_ to my family, yeah," Greg answered.

"So, you own a building that overlooks the town that the Crystal Gems live next to, with a clear view of their base itself." She jabbed a thumb towards the view overlooking the town and, indeed, the Crystal Gem's Temple.

"Um, yeah. I guess I do," Greg said.

"Is something wrong, Lapis?" Steven asked.

Lapis folded her arms and shrugged. "No. It just seems weird to me."

"It _is_ very coincidental," Pearl added.

"I guess it is," Greg chuckled. "Though it could have been weirder. When I was still touring, I was scheduled to make a stop in Beach City for a concert. How weird would it have been if I'd run into the Crystal Gems then?"

Steven rolled his eyes. "Dad, that never could have happened."

"Yeah, I suppose," Greg said. He clapped his hands together. "Alright, Steven. Let's go lay kitten down in her bed and we can pick out a movie."

Steven nodded and followed Greg back into the RV, shutting the door behind them.

Lapis walked over to Pearl. She paused, before asking, "We're going to be sitting on the ground?"

Pearl nodded. "Well, Greg won't. He will bring a chair out to sit on."

Lapis tilted her head to the side. "Why won't he? Shouldn't Steven be the one to get the chair?"

"Greg finds it difficult to get up if he gets onto the ground," Pearl explained, adding with a small smile, "Getting him back to his feet can be… a trial."

Lapis, however, just looked more confused. "Why is it so hard to get up from the ground? I've sat on the ground and it's been fine."

"It's a human thing," Pearl said carefully. "As they age, a human's body can weaken."

"Oh," Lapis said. "So he's too frail to even stand up properly."

"Yes," Pearl nodded.

Lapis was silent for a moment before saying, "And that's something that happens to all humans, right?"

"To varying degrees as I understand it, but yes."

Again, silence. As if Lapis was turning over a very heavy idea in her head. Finally, she spoke again, "Will that happen to Steven?"

Pearl kept her expression even and neutral at the question, even as she felt her chest tighten with a familiar, suppressed anxiety. She had wrestled with this question herself, but unfortunately had never come to a true conclusion.

Steven's body weakening with age wouldn't be unbearable, of course. Pearl would be there to offer her help. But what came after that, when a human's body was too weak to go on anymore…

"Pearl?"

Lapis's voice roused Pearl from her thoughts. She looked at Lapis, her expression concerned and questioning. Lapis's hand hovered a few inches above Pearl's shoulder before dropping back at her side.

"Ah. I am sorry, Lapis," Pearl said quickly. "I was merely thinking."

"Are you okay?" Lapis asked.

"Yes," Pearl answered simply. "And to your question, I am not completely sure. We are still learning how Steven's gem interacts with his body."

"Right, right," Lapis said. She paused before continuing, "And there's nothing else you need to say? Or anything?"

Pearl shook her head, but she still saw Lapis giving her an uncertain look. It was a look that Pearl had seen more often lately, mainly from Greg, though also from Steven.

She _really_ wished they'd stop.

"I am fine, Lapis," Pearl said. "There is just…" She glanced over her shoulder, at the RV. "There is a lot to do, lately."

Lapis nodded firmly, taking Pearl's meaning. "Okay," she said. "But you know, if you ever need someone to talk to again…" Lapis smiled, softly and shyly. "I'm not going anywhere."

Pearl returned her smile, but any response she would have had was cut off by the RV door opening and both Steven and Greg returning, sans kitten.

"Did you find a suitable movie?" Pearl asked, turning quickly on her heel.

"Yep!" Steven replied, holding a DVD case above his head. "Fangs of Love!"

Greg laughed. "Gotta admit, that's not really what I thought Steven would end up picking."

"Yeah, but it's got all kinds of good stuff in it!" Steven exclaimed excitedly. "It's got werewolves! Action! And a gripping love story!"

Lapis tilted her head to the side. "A werewolf? What's that?"

"It's a person that turns into a wolf," Steven began to explain. "Here, let me show you the back of the box." Steven took Lapis by the hand and led her over to where the DVD player and projector were setup.

Pearl took a step to join them, but she heard Greg calling her, "Hey, Pearl! You mind giving me a hand here?" She turned and saw Greg trying- and struggling- to set up the screen for the movie. He looked as if he were about to break something, either the screen or one of his own legs.

"Yes, I'm coming," Pearl said, grateful to have something to do. Even though the task wasn't _too_ taxing. The hardest part was pulling the screen's cord taut and tying it around the base of the pole, to keep the screen flat so it would billow as little as possible.

Pearl wasn't that strong, at least by Gem standards. By human standards however... Greg had often joked that Pearl should take up boxing, that she'd be able to be a champion heavyweight. Pearl had never thought that much about such comments, but by the low, impressed whistle Greg let out as she pulled, and the tied the cord to the screen's base, perhaps she should have.

Once again, Pearl wondered why they were bothering to set up the equipment outside. It seemed to her that it would be both more convenient and more comfortable to hold movie night inside the van or the Palanquin. But Greg and Steven had informed her that outdoor movie nights were 'a thing'.

At least it was 'a thing' she could easily handle.

"Nice. Nicely done, Pearl," Greg said as Pearl stood back up.

"It was simple enough," Pearl responded.

"Yeah, I guess when you've got alien super strength." Greg laughed.

Pearl bit her lower lip. If she truly did have 'super strength', then it was most likely going to waste most days, outside of her work on the drill. And even then, the Renegade had taken the lead there.

"Hey, Pearl. You alright?"

Pearl blinked and she saw that Greg was giving her that look again, the same one Lapis had given her earlier and the same one she had seen on his face many times over the past weeks.

"Of course, Greg. Things have been calm lately, have they not?"

"Well, yeah," Greg admitted. "But you did that _thing_."

"Thing?"

"Yeah, that thing where you push your shoulders back and fold your hands," Greg said.

Pearl was going to say otherwise, but indeed she felt her posture was straight and pulled back and her hands were folded in front her. She let her hands drop to her side before saying, "Truly, Greg. I am fine."

Greg was silent for a moment, seeming to just study her for a moment before slowly nodding. "Okay. But if that ever changes, you _can_ come to me, you know. Like, if you ever need to talk or whatever." He shrugged. "I'd want to do what I could for you, Pearl."

"I know, Greg."

Greg looked as if he had more he wanted to say, but Steven called to them before he could. "Hey, are you guys ready?"

Pearl turned and saw that Steven was already all set on the blankets and pillows, Lapis sitting beside him.

"Yeah we are, Schtooball. Go ahead and start it up. We're coming." With one last sideways smile at her, Greg went on to join Steven and Lapis. He sat down in his folding chair, glancing up to the sky and mumbling to himself, "It should probably be dark enough now."

Pearl soon followed after, joining the group as Steven fiddled with the DVD player. She sat on the blanket next to him. Once he got the movie to start and the opening credits began to scroll, Steven settled into his place. He looked down at his lap for a moment before looking over at Pearl.

"Um, Pearl?"

"Yes, dear?"

He hesitated. "Well, I was wondering if- I mean, if you don't mind or anything…"

"You okay, Steven?" Greg asked, looking down at them.

"Yeah, I am," Steven said quickly. "I was just…" He sighed, before seeming to gather himself. "I was just going to ask, since it's been a while since we've had movie night or anything, if I could sit in your lap. Like we used to… If you don't mind, of course!" he quickly added.

Pearl felt a fluttering sensation in her chest at Steven's question.

That was another thing that had changed since coming to Beach City, no, since _that day_ , when both Steven and Greg had gotten upset at her for merely doing what she'd always done. Before, Steven had been so much more... comfortable around her. He would often just come up to her with little to no preamble- to hug her, or hold her hand, or any other of the little gestures he did. Back then, Steven crawling into her lap while they watched TV or as she read him a story had not been an uncommon sight.

Back on Homeworld, to feel another's touch was rare. Even Pearl herself had never, save for the few clandestine brushes with another Pearl. And no Gem would dare touch someone outside their station, especially not Pearls, which were regarded as small and delicate things, something that would crumble at the barest touch.

But whenever Steven would wrap his arms around her and squeeze so tightly, it was a reminder that she wasn't small. That she wasn't delicate.

She missed that feeling.

"Of course you can," Pearl answered evenly. "If you want."

Steven hesitated for a moment, before smiling and crawling over to her. He didn't get into her lap exactly, but instead sat between her two outstretched legs. But after a few moments of relaxing, he did eventually settle against her, his head resting against her chest.

It wasn't the same as a hug, but the pressure of Steven's body resting against hers and the warmth that radiated from him to her…

Pearl smiled softly to herself as she brought her arms around and rested them in Steven's lap.

The movie began in earnest. A young man was walking down a darkened street. Judging by the low, tense music that was playing and the constant shifts of the camera, Pearl suspected something unfortunate was going to befall him.

"Oh, the popcorn," Steven said suddenly. "We forgot to make any."

Again, Pearl could feel a flutter of excitement in her chest. While the process to make popcorn was hardly trying, it still left her with the same satisfied feeling that any type of cooking left her. Taking ingredients and turning them into something that Steven and Greg could enjoy. It always left her feeling good, seeing them eat and enjoy the results.

"Ah. I will hand-"

"No, no that's alright, Pearl," Greg said, already getting up from his seat. "I can get it real quick."

Pearl was going to say more, but Greg had already entered the RV. She looked down at the ground next to her, covered by the blanket as it was, and resisted the urge to clench her hands into fists.

She looked back up and felt a pair of eyes on her. Lapis was looking at her, a strained look on her face.

Greg was back shortly, the warm scent of butter and salt coming with him. He took a handful of popcorn and began munching on it before passing the bowl to Steven. He took it, resting it on his lap and leaning forward to better eat the popcorn, pushing out of Pearl's arms and letting the chill evening wind blow through her.

Pearl frowned, doing her best to keep her herself still and undisruptive.

A difficult task.

She could feel herself shaking on the inside. It was the same feeling that she'd had that day at the Palanquin, when she had found the storybook that she had read to Steven so many times over the years…

The feeling that the life she once had was fading away, leaving her with nothing at all.

Pearl thought about leaving, to just excuse herself and go… somewhere. If trends proceeded as they had before, it would be unlikely that Greg or Steven would put up much protest. But Pearl knew if she left, it was likely Lapis would as well. Which would leave Greg and Steven alone and… that didn't seem fair.

So Pearl stayed. For the whole movie. Which was fairly unremarkable, in her opinion. As advertised, there was a werewolf, and a man who loved him despite that. Apparently the key to keeping him from hurting anyone in his animal form was to sing to him. An odd choice, in Pearl's opinion, but Steven seemed to really to like it.

So much that, even when the movie was done, he was still talking about it.

"That was such a good twist," Steven said, grabbing the pillows off the blanket and holding them tightly. "Who would have guess that Dave being a musician was the key?"

Greg was taking the projector down, grunting slightly with the effort. He laughed, "Well, you know me, Steven. I'm always glad to see musicians be the heroes." He pulled the final stake up, gently letting the screen fall to the ground. "What'd you two think?"

Pearl was roused out of her own mind. She and Lapis had merely been standing aside as Steven and Greg did all the clean up.

"It was enjoyable," Pearl said evenly. "I enjoyed the presentation."

"Yeah. It was… something, alright," Lapis added.

It was decided that they would stay by the barn for the night. Steven was excited at the prospect of sleeping at the barn, even as Greg reminded him that they'd still be sleeping in the RV. But that did little to quell the boy's enthusiasm.

Steven and Greg finished cleaning up, leaving Pearl with nothing to do but stand still and be alone with her thoughts. It wasn't until after, when pajamas had been put on, teeth had been brushed, and heads were resting on pillows, that Pearl was finally called on. Steven was laying in bed, ready for sleep and he wanted a good night kiss. Pearl indulged him, leaning down and planting a soft kiss on his forehead.

Before, this was when Steven would wrap his arms around Pearl and hug her tightly before saying good night.

"Night, Pearl," Steven said after the kiss. He rolled over to his side, pulling the covers up to his chin. "See you in the morning."

Pearl felt her lips tremble as she responded, "Yes. Good night, Steven."

She left the RV, gently shutting the door behind her. Lapis was waiting for her outside.

"So," she said. "Guess we're going to the drill?"

Pearl nodded silently.

"Pearl," Lapis said heavily. "There's something wrong. There's been something wrong all night." She shook her head. "And don't bother to try and hide it either. I can tell."

"I-" Pearl stopped herself. She was going to simply lie again, to tell Lapis she was fine but…

Instead, she started crying.

" _Pearl_!" Lapis started.

"It's…" Pearl sobbed, cover her eyes with her hands. "It's nothing, Lapis. Truthfully."

"That's-" Lapis shook her head. "I just- I mean, you seemed upset all night and… I just wanted to know if I could help…"

Pearl wiped her eyes clear, blinking to keep any fresh tears away. "It is… nothing you need to concern yourself with, Lapis. It's…" She trailed off, unable to finish her thought.

A beat of silence passed and Lapis asked quietly, "Does this have anything to do with Steven and Greg?"

Pearl felt her throat tighten, as if trying to forcibly keep her from speaking.

"In a sense…" Pearl said, nearly choking on each word, "I fear that…"

"Yes?" Lapis pressed.

"What use am I to them now? Practically none at all."

"That- That's crazy!" Pearl winced at Lapis's words. "What makes you think you're 'useless'. I mean-" She looked over shoulder, at the quiet RV. She continued, lowering her voice slightly, "Even if you want to ignore what you do at the Drill, things aren't really that different with them, are they?"

"It _is_ different." Pearl shook her head. "You saw it yourself, Lapis. Before and after the movie, Steven and Greg did all the preparation and cleanup. And the popcorn…" She fiddled with the hem of her skirt. "I _always_ make the popcorn for movie nights."

Pearl looked down at the ground, her thick bangs hiding Lapis from her sight. But she could still feel Lapis quietly considering her. Finally she spoke, "Didn't you talk to Steven and Greg about this? About you serving?"

"We did," Pearl answered. "At the time, I thought the matter resolved, that things would return to normal, save for perhaps a few small things. But…" She shook her head, fearing more tears were coming. "Things are _not_ normal. Greg and Steven disallow me to perform any of my duties. I'm left with nothing at all."

Lapis stared at her, eyes silvery in the moonlight.

"Pearls are good at finding ways to help people, before they even need help," she suggested. "That's what you need to do here. Just find something that Steven and Greg don't even know they need, and do it."

"Like _what_?" Pearl demanded.

"I don't know," said Lapis. "You know about these things more than me. Washing stuff, or… organizing schedules, or…"

"There's nothing else needed _,_ " Pearl stressed. "They do everything now! Laundry, cooking, cleaning- And I don't want- I don't want to figure out what to do myself, I just- _I need someone to tell me what to do!_ "

Pearl clutched at her chest, unable to stop herself from rocking forward and backwards slightly, however unseemly it was.

"I could-" Lapis began, opening her mouth, and then closing it as she immediately thought better of it. She fell silent, looking away and down at the peaceful sight of the town below. Several moments passed, the only sound being the wind that blew past them.

"Lapis," Pearl said softly. "Do you think I should leave?"

"What?"

"Leave. As in, Greg and Steven." Pearl shook her head. "I doubt I'm even truly needed at the drill anymore. The rebels have that well in hand. And… if I'm not wanted here anymore… If my being here serves no purpose, if I... if I don't belong here anymore… then should I leave?"

"I think," Lapis said, "that making that choice right now is not a good idea."

"What do you mean?"

"It's been a long day. Maybe it would be better when you've given it some thought with a clearer head?"

Pearl sighed heavily, suppressing another lingering sob. "I suppose you are right, Lapis," she said.

A cool wind blew past them, blowing Pearl's hair out of her eyes and giving her a clearer view of Lapis. She wore a considered look, though didn't seem to actually be looking at anything in particular.

"I do know what you mean," Lapis said, pausing before focusing back at Pearl. "About belonging, you know? I guess, ever since the mirror, I've been looking for that. Just a place to belong."

Pearl felt her expression drop, just slightly, but it was enough for Lapis to see, as she quickly added, "But it's not like it hasn't been good with you and Steven or anything. It's just…" She trailed off before finally shrugging. "I don't know. Sometimes I just wonder if Earth is actually meant for Gems."

Pearl was silent in response. She didn't feel she had a true answer for Lapis.

"Come on," Lapis said. "Why don't we go and get some work done on the drill? Get your mind off this?"

Pearl nodded slowly. "You go on ahead. Tell the Renegade that I will be there shortly."

"Pearl?"

Lapis took just a step closer, but Pearl turned away. "I would just like a little while alone, if that is alright, Lapis."

"Sure. Okay." A moment passed and Pearl heard the soft padding sound of Lapis's bare feet against the grass. Another beat and she heard the 'swish' of Lapis's wings being summoned.

"Pearl."

Pearl turned and saw Lapis standing on the edge of the cliffside, her wings outstretched, waiting to catch her and carry her away.

"If- I mean, I don't know if you should stay or go or… whatever, really." She scowled at her feet for a moment before continuing, "But, if you do- _ugh_." Her face flushed and she turned away, facing the town again. "Forget it. It was dumb." Another pause. "Don't wait too long to get to the drill," she said, before adding in a much more gentle tone, "Alright, Pearl?"

"Yes. Alright, Lapis."

Lapis nodded and then leaped from the cliff, flying away towards the Temple.

Pearl lingered for a moment, watching her slowly shrink in the horizon, before she turned, her eyes holding on the RV's door until she walked past, beginning down the dirt road leading back to Beach City.

It was a calm night. Pearl could hear cicadas as she moved silently down the road, like a ghost from any number of stories humans liked to tell themselves. And Pearl was alone, as she wanted. She had hoped to maybe do some thinking, but every time her mind lingered too close to the matter, her vision began to blur and she could feel more tears begin to sweep over her.

So instead, Pearl kept her mind purposefully blank.

After all, if she didn't think about how she felt, then it didn't truly matter.

Eventually, she came to the town and, after that, to the Crystal Gem Temple. She still didn't like coming here. Every time she did, all she could see was the silent glow of the cage that had held Steven. But the warp pad in the Temple was the nearest one in Beach City and traveling to the next closest one was a waste of time.

Pearl stepped off the beach and into the Temple itself, when she heard a voice behind her.

"Hello, Pearl."

Pearl whipped around and nearly jumped when she saw Rose Quartz standing there, just out of sight from the entrance.

She put on an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."

"You did not," Pearl said. "I am merely heading to the Drill."

"Ah, of course. You needn't worry, Pearl is already there getting to work." She chuckled to herself. "As you have no doubt noticed, she can get rather intense about her projects."

"She can, yes."

Pearl turned and began to walk to the warp pad, but Rose Quartz spoke again, "Pearl. Is there anything wrong?"

Pearl stopped where she stood. She deftly turned back around. "Of course not," she said simply.

Rose nodded. "Well, for whatever it's worth, if you need an ear, or another Gem's perspective, then you can always come to me."

There was no delicate way to say that Pearl cared little for whatever advice Rose Quartz had to give. So instead she said:

"I have Lapis."

Rose smiled. "Yes, I suppose you do."

Pearl turned to continue to the warp pad… but stopped and instead looked back at Rose. "Rose Quartz. If I may, a question."

The words surprised even Pearl herself.

"Of course, Pearl. Anything you need."

"Were there many Pearls in your rebellion?"

While Pearl couldn't be sure, a glint in Rose's eye seemed to indicate that wasn't the question she'd expected to be asked. "Oh, many," she answered easily. "Just about every Gem was represented in our ranks."

"Did any of those Gems come to the rebellion with…" she hesitated. She had said too much.

But now, Rose Quartz was waiting.

"With…?" Rose prodded.

Pearl shook her head. "It was nothing."

"Are you sure, Pearl?"

"Very." Pearl stepped onto the warp pad. She bowed lightly at Rose Quartz. "Thank you for your time, Rose Quartz."

Rose bowed in return. "Of course, Pearl. And as I said, if you ever need anything…"

"Yes, I know," Pearl said, beginning to grow weary of hearing the same phrase over and over. "You'll be there."

In a single flash, the Temple and Rose Quartz were gone and the warp pad whisked Pearl away.

Where at least, she'd hopefully be able to keep her hands and mind busy for a little while.


	36. Echoes (April Fools)

Waking up that morning felt like Steven was slowly floating to the surface of a deep, warm, comfortable bath. He blinked his eyes, then immediately closed them, snuggling deeper into the covers.

It was the smell of cooking food that finally drew Steven out of bed. He wrapped the duvet around him and made his way to the kitchen.

There stood Pearl, busy cooking something at the stovetop. Steven blinked at her.

"Good morning Steven!" Pearl chirped. Her smile faltered a bit. "Is everything alright…?"

Steven blinked again.

"Yeah," he said, and didn't elaborate as he sat down.

Pearl seemed to give a mental shrug, and continued cooking. Steven sat there, not saying anything, which he knew was strange compared to his usual chatter. Hopefully Pearl would just consider it an effect of the 'human adjustment period' after waking up.

There was a knocking at the door. Before either of them could get up to answer it, it burst open. Standing there was Connie, dressed in shorts and t-shirt, a sword over one shoulder.

"Hey there Steeevo~" she announced, fluttering her eyelashes. "Wanna go beat up some monsters? Or _make out_?"

There was a silence. Steven's mouth opened into an 'O'.

Pearl groaned. " _Amethyst_."

"Oh come on P," 'Connie' sighed. "Ya ruined it."

Steven blinked, his half-asleep brain churning. She looked like Connie, from her eyes to her clothes to how she stood. The only giveaway was her skin was purple. It hadn't been obvious because of the backlight from the rising sun. But then… "Your hair is black?"

"It's a wig." Amethyst sighed again, pulling it off to reveal her usual white mane, tied up into a bun. " _Man,_ you're slow on the uptake today."

"Sorry," said Steven, still blinking.

Pearl frowned. "Something _is_ wrong," she announced, looking Steven in the eyes. She clasped a hand to his forehead. "Are you sick? Do you have a fever?"

"No, no," Steven said, gently pushing her away. "I just had a weird dream is all."

There was a flash of light as Amethyst returned to her usual shape, coming to sit next to Steven. "Another one about that flying dog?"

"No," said Steven.

"Oh, don't you worry, Steven," said Pearl. "It's like you said once, dreams are just 'mixed up movies'-"

"But this was different. In this one- Mom was a Diamond."

Pearl froze.

"Blue Diamond," Steven elaborated, expression going distant as he tried to recall details that were already slipping away. "And I grew up in Korea, and I didn't know you guys, and when you met me you were really scared and angry- I was too- I really hurt Garnet and then you all locked me in a cage and-"

The air filled with the smell of burning.

Immediately, it stopped, Garnet appearing out of the Temple door, jumping over the kitchen counter, and yanked the frying pan away from the open flame.

"Oh!" said Pearl, hand at her mouth. "Oh goodness, I'm so sorry-"

Garnet didn't respond, simply set the pan onto the counter with a _thunk_.

"Steven," she said, coming over and giving him her best attempt at a warm smile. "It's okay. It was just a dream."

"Yeeeeah," said Ame, leaning over to his seat and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "I have the craziest dreams too. Once, I thought I was a bird, right? But one born on Mars or something, soo-"

Steven tuned her out. Listening to other people's dreams _was_ really boring.

Which probably made him a hypocrite, but he couldn't help it. The dream he'd had last night had been so _vivid._ It hadn't been a bad dream, either. Well, parts of it had been, but there had been nice and happy parts too, and now…

Garnet put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Steven slumped. What did it matter? He was here with his family, in his house at the Temple. It had just been a dream.

Pearl was still watching him, her gaze sharp and worried. "Steven? Are you sure that you're alright?"

"Yeah," Steven said, making himself sit up straight. "Yep. Just kind of out of it this morning, don't even worry about it. And don't worry about the breakfast either-"

"Oh! Oh yes-" Pearl said, casting an anguished look at what been a sausage and cheese omelette.

"I'LL EAT IT!" Amethyst roared.

"We'll make you new eggs," Garnet announced, striding towards the fridge.

Steven grinned as he watched Pearl wrestle with Amethyst to stop her destroying another of their frying pans. Then he glanced, very quickly, to the portrait of Rose Quartz hanging above the door. His mom.

Looking away, he pushed away from the counter, jumped to the floor, and went to go help Pearl figure out just the right amount of cheese.

There was just one last thing niggling in his mind. The image of another Pearl, pale blue eyes hidden… He'd seen her in Korea, and then in the Zoo. Was she anything like who she'd been in his dream? Wherever she was in space, was she okay?

… oh well. No way to know. Nothing he could do about it.

He grabbed some onions out of the fridge, and got cooking.

 **The End**

* * *

 **Authors Note:** And there we go, everyone. A hopefully fitting ending to this story. Words cannot express how strange it is to be here at last.

We'd just like to thank all of your for your kudos, comments and support. It made writing this fic such a blast. Have a wonderful April!


	37. Thunderstorm

"Woah," Greg said, as the warp faded and dropped him on the ground.

Steven looked at him anxiously. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing" Greg laughed, hopping down. "Just forgot how humid Korea could be, is all."

" _Heh_. It has been a while since you've been back, huh?"

It had been, Greg thought wistfully. He thought about that as he and his son took the long route through the underbrush to the Palanquin. He still remembered the path, but let Steven take the lead, listening as he told stories about stuff that had happened here while Greg had been gone.

He'd missed Korea. He'd missed these mountains. Its flowers, its trees, its birdsong. As much as he loved the beach, there was a peaceful elegance to this place, all of its own.

Maybe he should write a song about it.

Something he _hadn't_ missed was the rain. It was monsoon season, and Greg had almost forgotten how sudden they could be. He and Steven were about halfway to the Palanquin when the sky turned dark. A few minutes later, the first drops were coming down. By the end, they were both running for shelter, although it felt more like swimming.

Greg was grasping for breath by the end of it. Steven, younger and healthier than him, grabbed towels to help them both dry off.

Once that was done, they got to work collecting the next batch of stuff for Steven to bring over to Beach City. His son's 'temporary stay' there was looking more and more permanent with each passing day, and Steven was starting to get antsy for some of the stuff he'd left behind. He practically threw himself at his toy collection, attempting to hug them all at once. Greg watched with mixed affection and worry. It was gonna be hard fitting all that stuff in the van.

Maybe he should start renting a storage locker? Or buy a second van? Or heck, even get an actual place in Beach City…

Greg sighed internally. That would be the easiest thing to do right now, of course. Especially since they were planning on staying close to the Crystal Gems for the time being. But he knew Steven still had his heart set on them moving back to Korea at some point.

He mulled all this over as he and Steven carried stuff over towards the entrance, stacking it or putting it into bags as necessary. There was absolutely no question of bringing it back now, though. The rain was falling in sheets.

"We should've brought Lapis," Steven said, sticking out a hand into the rain and giggling as the cold water hit him.

"Eh, ya live and ya learn, buddy," Greg said. "Well, no harm if we have to wait a bit. We've got a deck of cards here. Wanna play a few hands with your old man?"

"Sure-"

Steven cut himself off mid-sentence, staring off into distance, brow furrowed.

"What's up?" Greg asked, straining to see anything in the thick rain.

Steven didn't get a chance to answer before there was a loud _'CAW'_ , and suddenly there was a giant bird perching on his hand. Greg startled, but calmed himself quickly. He'd had to get used to animals cozying up to his son.

Still. That thing was nearly half as big as Steven was.

"Nari!" Steven cried joyously. "I'm sorry, I missed you too-"

Greg got on with shuffling the cards, as Steven caught up with his friend. Greg didn't understand most of what the kid was saying, being mostly in squawks and coos and other bird noises. He did gather, from its ruffled feathers and Steven's calming tones, that the hawk must have been frightened by something.

"Spooked by the rain?" Greg asked.

Steven rolled his eyes. "Nari's a wild hawk, Dad. She's not gonna be scared of a little storm."

" _You_ used to be, once upon a time."

His cheeks flushed purple. "I was like three!"

"Five," Greg corrected with a chuckle. "But never mind. She tell you what's got her all nervous?"

"Not sure," Steven said, stroking her feathers. She cooed, and nipped at his fingers affectionately. "A predator, I think. But I don't understand the specific word she's using."

Huh. That was weird. It wasn't often Steven couldn't properly translate something in animal.

Greg shrugged. Not sure why he should be surprised. There were enough things in human languages that didn't translate properly; there were bound to be a few cross-species things too.

He dug through the canned foods they still had at the Palanquin, bringing out a thing of tuna. Hawks ate that, right? As he rummaged around for something to open it with, he said, "Well, nevermind. For now, she can stay here, safe from the rain or whatever else is out there."

* * *

Rain.

Smell strong. Wind cold.

Rain good. Like rain.

Water on back. Water in eyes. Shake water off.

Mud. _Squish, squish, squish_.

Sky getting darker. Not night dark. Rain dark. Rain rain rain, so much rain.

 _LIGHT_

Remember the light, bad light, bad noise. Burning light, burning noise, in self. Too bright, too loud. Loud, loud, loud, too loud to think-

Light gone. Just rain. Only rain-

 **BOOM**

 _Nonononononono_

Bad noise bad light bad noise bad light

Run. Get away. Run. Stop it, stop it, stop it- now-

 _Now_.

* * *

"Hello?" Steven called out into the forest.

"Who ya talking to this time, bud?" Dad asked. By now they'd moved on from cards, which was pretty dull with just two people, and were about to start a round of _Battleboat_.

Steven shrugged, drawing the curtain against the cool rain and wind. "Not sure. Just thought I saw something moving in the trees…" He bit his lip. "It's really coming down out there."

"Don't worry." Dad came over, laid a warm hand on Steven's shoulder, and lead him back to the table. "Animals know how to deal with rain. And besides," he chuckled, "if anyone wants to come in, they just gotta ask."

By now, Nari, who perched on the wardrobe, wasn't the only one who'd come to the Palanquin seeking shelter. There was a family of _manguts_ huddled among the pillows of the reading corner, and a deer sleeping peacefully at the feet of the throne.

"Yep!" Steven grinned. He poked his head out of the curtain and called out another invitation into the forest, for whoever might be out there.

He thought maybe he heard a distant roar in response, but whatever it might have been saying was lost in the rain.

A couple minutes later (as Dad was just starting to sink Steven's largest boat), there was a bright flash of lightning. It was the third one they'd seen so far.

The pair paused in their game, and started counting elephants. It was something Dad had taught him, counting the seconds until the thunder, to figure out how far away the storm was. It was tradition.

The monsoon had been drawing steadily closer, and Steven had only been expecting to get out to about three-elephants before thunder rolled. They didn't even get partway through one-elephant.

Every animal in the Palanquin came to attention- the manguts letting out sharp barks, the deer waking with a start, Nari leaving her perch with a loud squawk.

"... Was that thunder?" Dad asked.

It hadn't been, because a moment later, _actual_ thunder- much louder, much deeper- rumbled.

So what had been that first noise?

There was another strike of lightning, illuminating the landscape in burning white, and Steven saw it:

A huge, hulked beast. Massive paws, thick mane, horns where its eyes should be…

… and a jagged jaw formed into teeth-like spikes, prominently on display as it let out a loud **_ROAR_**.

Steven stepped backwards. A Gem Monster.

They were attracted to powerful sources of magic, and so monsters had found the Palanquin a couple times before. Always, Pearl had dealt with it. Never by fighting it- but by sending it chasing after one of the detector probes.

He couldn't help but spin in a circle, hoping to see one of those probes tucked in a corner. But no. Pearl always carried them in her gem and-

"Oh boy oh boy oh boy," Dad was muttering, while Steven's animal friends let out loud exclamations of fear.

Another low roar, and a huge, dark shadow circling the Palanquin, just visible through its lattice.

"It's okay," Steven said, not quite believing it himself. "We'll be safe in here, we just have to wait…"

Wait for it to… what? The monster to go away by itself? That seemed unlikely. Gems didn't eat, didn't sleep- it could stay there forever.

But it would be okay. Pearl would come find them, or Lapis, or even the Crystal Gems. Garnet would See they were in danger. Help would come.

Another flash of light, and twin roars from both thunder and monster.

The sound was no more a language than the kittens' mews. But Steven still understood it- pure, undiluted fear, which struck him to his very core.

The animals were terrified too; fur puffed out, wings flapping, eye whites showing.

"Shh, shh," Steven said, in a three different animal tongues, "don't worry, it'll be fine-"

" _Twinkle twinkle little star_ _  
_ _How I wonder what you are~_ "

Steven raised his eyebrows at his Dad, the rock star's voice voice beginning to fill the Palanquin.

Dad just gave him a tight smile, then looked back at the assembled animals, raising his hands placatingly. His lullabye continued:

" _Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky~_ "

Lullabies weren't at thing for animals, or at least not as far as Steven was aware, but it seemed that a calm, even voice, was keeping them from teetering over the edge into outright panic.

So Steven took a deep breath, and began to join Dad. Not in English, or Korean, or Gem, but an combination of caws, clicks and barks.

Now the animals fixed him with (almost) their full attention.

They understood vocalizations, and Nari even understood music, but none of them could understand the song meant. Stars were just lights in the sky, something to see and navigate by. They weren't things to wonder after.

Nonetheless, Steven and Dad finished their singing. It was only after that Steven answered his animal friends' questions- or as much as he could. Some concepts just didn't translate. A few times, the monster clawed at the outside of the Palanquin again, scaring the animals, at which point they'd just start singing a different song.

And so the routine continued- song, explanation, startling- as the storm began to pass. Eventually Nari even perched on Steven's shoulder, as if to show just how completely unscared she was.

But the storm wasn't over. It still had one last bolt of lightning to throw their way.

It struck so close that the clap of thunder was nearly instantaneous.

Startled, the deer jumped into the air, let out a startled yelp, and bolted for the curtain-

"No!" Steven cried. He didn't think, just chased after her.

This was a bad decision.

Cold rain hit him. The ground under his feet was muddy. He could barely see anything- just a flash of pale fur, bounding off into the forest.

The deer was fast. It had spent its entire life running from predators. Steven had not.

Roaring, the monster swung its massive head, and sent Steven flying.

The world spun. Steven fell heavily, half his body feeling like a massive bruise, all of it covered in mud. His ears rang with the roaring and the thunder and animal shrieks and Dad crying his name. He hefted himself to his feet.

The monster didn't have eyes, so emotions were hard to read, but it was rolling its head like a cornered animal.

 _More scared of me than I am of it_ , Steven thought. Which was pretty impressive, considering he was currently terrified.

The Palanquin was right there, warm light spilling out, beckoning. He wondered if he could run past the monster-

It stepped towards him. Unlikely.

Dad rushed out of the Palanquin, waving his arms. "Hey! Hey ugly, follow me!"

"No, Dad-" Steven croaked.

The monster reared, screaming, preparing to swat this new threat away. Steven saw it as if in slow motion, too far away to do anything-

But Nari wasn't.

She was a blur, a defiant shriek. Her talons clawed across the monsters face, who cried with pain, losing its balance and toppling backwards.

"Steven," Dad panted, rushing to his side, looking him all over. "Are you hurt? Come on, let me carry you-"

Steven pushed him away. "Nari!"

The bird was still attacking, aiming at the monsters' exposed underbelly. Nari was small, and she was fast, and she had the upperwing.

The monster, however, was big. It may have been confused and terrified, but as it thrashed in the air, it hit Nari by chance. She went soaring through the air. Thankfully, unlike Steven, she had wings. She caught herself before she hit the ground. Her shrieks of anger and pain and worry could be heard over the fading rain.

" _GO_!" Steven cried after her. " _IT'S TOO BIG, GO-_ "

" _NO!_ " Nari cried back, but there was a note uncertainty in her voice. She wasn't used to fighting against predators. She _was_ a predator, and every one of her instincts screamed against this.

The monster rolled back onto its feet. Nari stayed away.

Steven felt terrible that he didn't feel much relief.

The monster clawed at the soft earth, and charged.

Dad grabbed Steven, and hefted him out of the way.

The monsters skidded to a stop, spun. Surveyed them, charged again. Again, Dad helped pull Steven.

His side still ached, it was hard to see with water dripping into his eyes, and Steven wondered how long they could keep this up.

A third time, the monster regained its footing, and charged.

Another bolt of lightning flashed over head.

Blinded and terrified, the monster flinched midrun. Steven and his Dad ducked to the side. Its momentum carried the monster forward-

 _CRASH!_

It hit the side of the Palanquin.

Pearl had once told Steven that the Palanquin was stronger than any human building. That it had been designed to withstand attacks from anything an invading army could throw at it. Apparently, that included a giant monster hitting it with full force, because it barely teetered.

With one last groan, it collapsed onto the ground, and didn't get up.

Human, half-human, and bird watched warily from a distance. The monster didn't poof.

"Uhhh," Dad said. "Maybe we could try whacking it with a big stick…?"

Something flashed. At first, Steven thought it was lightning… but no, the storm had moved on now, the rain now nothing more than a drizzle. The flashing was coming from the monster itself.

Heart hammering in chest, Steven stepped forward.

Nari flapped furiously around his head, telling him to go away, cawing a litany of bird insults when he didn't. Dad, too, was trying to pull him back, but Steven pushed past easily, seized by a terrible curiosity.

The monster raised his head towards him, but sluggishly. Horns were appearing and disappearing in random patterns on its head, like a glitchy computer game. Its body kept transforming periodically to static.

On its chest was its gem. It was hexagonal, like Amethyst's, but instead of purple it was covered in shiny patches of browns. There was also a deep crack running right through it, smaller ones radiating out like a spiderweb.

"Oh," Steven breathed.

The monster whined.

"It's hurt," he told Dad, who was still pulling anxiously on Steven's shoulder. "It's hurt, Dad, just like Lapis was-"

"Lapis never attacked you," said Dad.

Steven bit his lip. He knew that. He knew, and right now, he really wanted to get as far away from the monster as possible.

But the monster… it hadn't always been one. It had been a Gem, a _she_ , until Mom and the other Diamonds had changed that. So maybe he kinda _deserved_ it attacking him.

At the very least, the monster didn't deserve to be alone when it was hurting.

"It's scared, Dad," Steven said, as it seemed to stare at him from where its eyes should be.

"O… okay," Dad said. "I'll… I'll still go get that stick." A gulp. "Put it out of its misery."

Dad hurried offed. Steven hesitated, and sat down on the muddy ground, right next to the monster's leg. Exhausted, its head drooped down. It literally didn't have the energy to fight.

Still irritated at Steven's stupidity in refusing to flee, Nari landed on his shoulder. Her talons dug into his skin. Steven tried to ignore it.

"Hey. Hey," he said to the monster. "It's… it's going to be alright, okay? We'll… we'll poof you. I know it sounds bad, but when you're bubbled, you'll be in suspension. It'll stop hurting. It'll be like- like sleeping, I bet."

The monster groaned, uncomprehending.

"Shh," Steven said. With no other idea of what to do, he began: " _Twinkle, twinkle, little star~"_

He was sorry. Sorry it was like this.

 _"How I wonder what you are~_ "

The monster sighed.

" _Up above the world so high_  
 _Like a diamond in the sky_ ~"

From beneath his shirt, Steven's gem began to glow.

* * *

Pain.

Pain pain pain.

Pain in core, in body, in everywhere.

Blue One is there. Blue One is scary. Blue One did something once. What? Don't know. Don't remember.

But Blue One is not making pain now. Only making noise.

Pretty noise.

Pretty blue light.

Remember light. Light in sky. So so bright. Yellow and white and blue and burning, burning, burning

This blue light not burning. Light is cool, like water. Light is pretty, like noise.

No- not noise. Music.

 _"When the blazing sun is gone,  
When he nothing shines upon~"_

Yes. The sun is gone. It is cloudy.

Pain. Pain in her core is strong, but she struggles to focus. Seems important.

 _"Then you show your little light  
Twinkle, twinkle, through the night~"_

Stars? She remembers stars.

 _"Then the traveller in the dark_  
 _Thanks you for your tiny spark_  
 _He could not see where to go  
If you did not twinkle so~"_

That's how she feels. Each new word seems to slot into her brain, lighting the darkness, scaring away shadows she hadn't even known was there.

She leans forward, straining to hear every note of the Blue One's song.

 _"In the dark blue sky you keep_ _  
__And often through my curtains peep~ "_

She… she doesn't quite understand that, but never mind. Something is wrong. The Blue One's singing is faltering. The Blue ones eyes are blinking, and the light is faded.

She noses him gently, worried. Don't stop.

(The movement hurts, but this is more important.)

 _"For you… never shut your eye_ _  
_ _Till the sun is in the sky~ "_

A cry, cutting through the air.

Her head jerks up, causing another stab of pain. Two Gems are coming, running, running right towards her.

Panic grips her, but she fights back. She has to stay.

 _"As your- bright and tiny- spark~"_

She nudges the Blue One again.

" _Lights the traveller in the dark~_ "

The blue light fades. The music stops.

The Blue One slumps backwards, the Pink Gem catching just in time. Good. Good. She's a Rose Quartz, isn't she? She can heal.

Not so good- the Red One is there. She looks angry. She's not a quartz. It's not clear what she is, or what she can do. But she had two gloves- gauntlets- out. They look painful.

Pain. No more pain, please.

But-

" _Blue One- Blue One, what's wrong?_ " she asks.

The Blue One's eyes go wide. " _You can **talk**_ **?"**

" _Yes_ ," Biggs Jasper says, joy and surprise flooding through her at the word. " _Yes, but are you alri-_ "

Eyes closing, the Blue One collapses back into the Rose Quartz.

Biggs howls.


	38. Homecoming

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: Homecoming**

"— _as she walks down the runway, the gold sequins in her dress catches the light perfectly._ "

Pearl looked over at the television as she dried and put away the last of the dishes from breakfast this morning— a task she was able to do only because both Steven and Greg were away and hadn't done it before leaving. The model's dress was lovely enough, she supposed. But it was a bit... too much for Pearl's taste. She would have preferred something more subdued. And maybe in blue or purple...

She was still considering exactly what kind of dress she would prefer, when she heard knocks at the door, followed by muffled voices. "Oh, right. Of course," went one of them.

Pearl had just turned towards the door when it opened. Greg stepped inside, followed closely by Rose Quartz, so huge that she had to bow and squeeze through the door frame.

Pearl tensed immediately and felt her legs weaken beneath her when she saw what— no, _who_ was in Rose Quartz's arms.

Steven.

His eyes were shut. And he wasn't moving.

" _My Steven_!" Pearl cried out, forgetting herself. Panic and dread ripped through her as she ran past Greg and over towards Rose, hurriedly taking Steven from Rose's arms and into her own. Greg was saying something, but Pearl barely registered his words, too focused on pressing her ear close to Steven's chest.

 _Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump._

Pearl could hear the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, mixing through the Song of his gem.

He was still alive.

Pearl stumbled back a few steps, sitting on the RV's couch— almost _falling_ into it— Steven still cradled close to her chest.

"Pearl? _Pearl!_ Are you alright?"

Pearl blinked, Greg's voice now registering, and at the same time, she realized she must look rather unsightly. Her eyes were large and full of fear, as she clutched the unconscious boy in her arms. She squeezed her eyes close for a moment, blinking rapidly as she tried to regain herself.

"Yes. I-I am sorry, Greg."

"Hey, it's alright," he responded. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay." He gave her a shaky smile.

"I am sorry," Pearl repeated. "I... seemed to have gotten caught up in the moment."

"That's perfectly understandable," Rose said. "I understand how unnerving it is to see friends hurt—"

Pearl's gaze shot over to Rose, her eyes narrowing accusingly at the Gem. "What did you do to him? Another ill-fated mission?"

Rose was taken aback by the accusation, so much that Greg was able to jump in first. "Hey, hey! It's not like that. Steven and I got caught in a— situation, Rose came to help us out."

"Help from-"

But Pearl wasn't able to finish her thought. Something rumbled loudly from outside, sounding too close to a _roar_. The entire RV shook and tilted, enough for the dishes to slide and rattle in their cupboards. As if one of the RV's sides had been lifted off the ground. Pearl braced herself as best as she could, tightening her grip on Steven to ensure he didn't get thrown around.

Greg and Rose braced and balanced themselves as well. Rose even summoned her shield to her arm, looking as if she was about to burst out through the door now angled slightly above them.

But just as suddenly as it had been lifted, the side of the RV fell, landing with mighty, metallic ' _thud_ '. Pearl took a moment to steady herself and check on Steven's still dozing form in her arms. He seemed unharmed and undisturbed by what had just happened.

"What as _that_?" Pearl demanded, only her grip on Steven stopping her from summoning a knife.

"It must have been Biggs," Rose said.

"Oh boy," Greg moaned.

Before Pearl could ask what a 'Biggs' was, Rose Quartz was already pushing her way back out of the RV door. Greg, meanwhile, hesitated and looked over at Pearl. "That's… the trouble we ran into at the Palanquin." The RV tilted again, not as badly this time. Someone— Garnet?— yelled. "Uh. Biggs."

"What is Biggs?" Pearl asked.

"Well she's, er, a corrupted Gem-"

"A _WHAT_?!"

Pearl should have left Steven in the relative safety of the RV. But she barely registered what she was doing as she dashed out, her charge still held close to her chest. Only a few steps onto the pavement, she was forced to a stop, face to face with a giant, horned, white-maned beast. Pearl felt fright shoot through her, but only for a moment.

She had been in this situation before, more times than she'd liked. It was not a Pearl's traditional place to fight such abominations, but she had done her duty, luring the creatures away with the many drones stocked in Blue Diamond's ship.

Why Rose Quartz, a proper warrior, had not dealt with this one, Pearl had no time to wonder. She had no time to pull a drone out. She stepped back from the creature and yelled, "Leave us, creature! Be gone!"

Pearl clenched her free hand into a fist and punched it in the Gem's snout with as much force as she could muster.

It reared back and roared, suddenly looking more than twice its already massive size. Pearl backed away, shielding Steven with her arms.

Instantly, Rose Quartz and Garnet were at the creature's side. Rose Quartz petted its fur and whispered softly at it. The fusion held onto the monster's haunch. The monster still bucked and reared, vile spittle flying everywhere.

There was nothing else. Pearl would have to run, to get them to safety, far, far away.

"Biggs?"

It was Steven's voice, groggy but unafraid. He was stirring in Pearl's arms, blinking.

Immediately, the monster seemed to settle down. It settled down on all fours, ears perking up, fur flattening.

"Good. Good," Rose Quartz cooed.

Pearl began, "My Steven— what—"

But Steven wasn't listening to her. He was still murmuring to the monster in some animalistic language, and the monster was murmuring back. Rose Quartz was smiling, Garnet too. Even Greg was at Pearl's shoulder, saying, "It's alright— Biggs is okay. Probably. I think."

Pearl didn't let herself relax. She was still prepared to run at a moment's notice.

Or, she would have, but Steven was squirming in her arms. "Here, you can set me down, Pearl," he said.

"No," Pearl said. A shock ran through her at the word.

Steven didn't notice, didn't get angry at her for contradicting an order. He just smiled up at her, and said, "Please— it's okay. Can you trust me?"

So Pearl put him down.

He wobbled a little, but quickly gained his balance. He reached forward to pet the monster's leg— and the creature was on him. Not eating him, not mauling him, but covering his face in slobbery licks. The sounds that came out of Steven's mouth were not screams, but laughter.

The monster knocked Steven to the ground in its enthusiasm. It promptly sat down itself, paying no mind to Pearl's gasp as she rushed to the boy's side.

"It's okay, it's okay," Steven told her.

Unwilling to contradict him, Pearl instead withdrew a cooler from her gemstone in a show of lights and sparkles. "Here, m— dear." She held a bottle out to him. It will replenish your electrolytes and make you feel better."

Steven eyed the bottle for a moment. "Is that 'cool raspberry' Crocorade?"

Pearl nodded. "It is."

"Okay." Steven got to his feet and took the bottle, unscrewing the cap and gulping a mouthful of the blue drink.

"Ya feeling better now, Steven?" It was Greg, who Pearl had forgotten was even there.

The two of them took some time to look Steven over, to ensure he had not been further hurt by the monster. Once Pearl was satisfied, she stood up, and strode towards the Crystal Gems, who were busy petting the corrupted monster as though it was some Earth pet.

Bearing herself to her full height, Pearl demanded, "What have you _done_?"

Rose Quartz blinked at her. The fusion seemed unphased.

"They were on a simple errand," Pearl continued. "Then you bring Steven back, unconscious in your arms, a monster at your heels, threatening to destroy our home. What happened to him? And why did you not _heal_ him?"

"I tried to," said Rose Quartz, "but he wouldn't wake up—"

Pearl could have laughed. So much for the rebel leader's legendary healing!

She didn't laugh, because she was better trained than that, but something must have shown on her face. Rose Quartz said, "I cannot heal simple exhaustion."

Taking a deep breath, Pearl said, "Then what exhausted him so?"

"A great magical working," Garnet answered, adjusting her glasses. "Steven partially reversed the corruption."

Pearl froze. Pushing down panic, she made herself listen to the explanation she so desperately wanted.

Steven tried to lead the talk, but couldn't. Partly because the monster— 'Biggs'— would not leave him alone, constantly nudging him or barking something. Partly because he _was_ exhausted. His skin was ashen, his eyes drooping, his speech slightly slurred.

So Greg lead. "This big girl here just wandered near to the Palanquin. Gave me and Steven a bit of a scare."

He laughed. Pearl did not. She had never understood Gregory's sometimes inappropriate reactions to events.

"You should have lead it away with a drone—" Pearl stopped as realization dawned on her. "You had no _drones_ ," she said, more to herself than to anyone around her. Her hands began to shake. "They were all stored in my gem..."

Pearl had always intended to slip away to Blue Diamond's ship and refill her personal supply. To have extra in both Beach City and the Palanquin.

But with everything that had been going on lately, the idea had completely slipped from Pearl's mind.

And because of that, Steven and Greg were _attacked_ , and with no means to defend themselves…

Pearl could see her vision blurring, so she clenched her eyes shut, her hands curling into fists once more, as tightly as she could until her nails dug into her palm. "I— I am sorry," she shakily breathed out. "I should have— I—"

"Hey, hey. It's alright, Pearl," Greg said easily. "We both got through it okay, so there's no harm-"

" _But there was_!" Pearl cried out. "You and Steven could have been hurt, or worse! And— And it would have been all _my_ fault. Because I was too stupid and foolish to not leave proper supplies…" She rubbed at her eyes, even though it did no good now. The tears were too strong. So instead she covered her face with her hands, already feeling embarrassed and out of place with her outburst.

"Pearl." It was Rose Quartz who was talking, in a tone that had no doubt won her many an ally during her life. "You have done no wrong towards Greg or Steven."

"He was unconscious," Pearl snapped, the anger aimed at herself.

"Just sleeping!" called Steven, resting happily on Bigg's massive paw.

"You could not have expected what happened today. Even _I_ did not see the conclusion." Garnet smiled. "The unexpected can be a good thing. When we arrived at the Palanquin, Biggs was not attacking Steven. She was sitting there, listening to him sing."

"It was… pretty amazing," Greg murmured. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing."

Pearl sniffed. She felt something warm press to her side. Steven had left the monster to come to her, and pressed against her side. "I did it Pearl," he said. "I used my powers…" His eyes were glistening. "Without hurting anyone. I _helped_ …"

Despite Pearl's personal shame, she felt a well of pride for the child. She delicately wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and squeezed.

It was easier to listen to the rest of the tale. The sheer magnitude of the power Steven had released wiped him out. Guided by Garnet's future vision, Rose Quartz had arrived just in time to catch him. Her powers may not have been able to revive Steven, but they had healed the Biggs Jasper's chipped gem. The Crystal Gems had accompanied Greg and Steven home— and Biggs too, the monster clearly now dedicated to the one who had cleared her clouded mind.

By the time she finished the story, Rose Quartz was practically on the verge of tears. She was shaking with some sort of emotion, and Pearl thought she understood. Whatever their differences, they agreed: the corruption had been monstrous.

And Steven— _her_ Steven— had helped fix it.

"Biggs is an old friend of ours," Rose Quartz was saying. "Oh, Garnet, just wait until Pearl finds out!"

Garnet nodded. She was wearing an uncharacteristically warm smile. "Amethyst will get to meet another Crystal Gem for the first time!"

Rose Quartz emitted a sound so loud it was practically a squeak. "Oh! Oh, let's go now!" She announced. "Steven, please, could you tell Biggs we're leaving?"

"Sure," Steven said, letting out a series of those mumbling growls. The monster murmured something in return, then got to her feet, tail wagging. Steven moved to follow— but staggered, forcing Pearl to catch him before he tripped.

"Whoa, easy champ," Greg said, stepping over to him. "I think we need to call it a day for you. Too much excitement."

"But I need to translate—" Steven protested.

"Not in this state," said Pearl, firmly.

"I agree," said Garnet. Only her clenched fist revealed any sign of reluctance. "Drawing too much from his powers tired him out. I know this from experience."

Steven looked back and smiled sheepishly before leaning back against Pearl, who scooped him back into her arms.

"I suppose we need to return to the Temple," Rose Quartz said. "We have much to explain to Pearl and Amethyst. But for now..." She smiled and nodded at Steven. "Thank you, Steven. For what you have done today."

"You've done good," Garnet added with her own smile. "I'm proud of you."

Steven blushed deeply, but said nothing.

With a pair of waves, the Crystal Gems set off.

… Biggs Jasper did not follow.

"Um," Rose Quartz tilted her head. "Biggs, come on! Don't you want to see Pearl?"

The monster didn't seem to notice her words. It was sniffing around the RV.

Steven murmured something to it curiously. Then, he said, "Uh… she doesn't want to go with you?"

The Crystal Gems exchanged looks.

"Why not?" asked Rose Quartz, a hint of petulance in her usually soft voice.

"She… uh…" Steven was stammering. "She says… um… she doesn't know who you are, and would rather stay with me?"

There was a beat of silence, and then Rose Quartz erupted: "What do you mean she doesn't know who we are?"

"She was one of the first Crystal Gems," said Garnet, frowning. "If she does not remember us, then…"

As a worried silence fell, Pearl could not bear to look at them.

But the questions Steven asked of Biggs soon confirmed the worst. Some of the answers he got out of her were strange, scrambled, simplistic. The clearest things the monster remembered were three lights in the sky— and a terrible sound— and then a sweet one, Steven's singing, as he healed her.

Biggs could not remember anything from before. As far as she was concerned, Rose Quartz and Garnet were strangers, and she would not leave Steven's side in favor of them.

That realization seemed to shatter the Crystal Gems' expressions.

In Pearl's arms, Steven was shaking. His breathing was becoming shallow. Pearl ran a gentle hand through Steven's hair. "It is alright," she murmured to him. "Simply tell your… new friend… the truth."

"The truth?" Steven said.

"That she may not remember them, but that Rose Quartz and Garnet are her friends. That she will be safe with them." Pearl squeezed him gently. "Biggs Jasper trusts you. I'm certain she'll listen."

And she did. As far as Pearl could judge, it was not easy… but after ten minutes of discussion, the monster hesitantly left Steven's side to join the Crystal Gems. She whined a little, but Steven barked something in reply. Garnet scratched her behind a horn, and that seemed to help too. The bounce had returned to her step as they departed.

Pearl let out a relieved sigh, just because she could.

She, Steven, and Greg returned to the RV. Pearl went directly to the bed, drawing the covers back and laying Steven down on top of them. Pearl slipped off his shoes and socks, placing them next to the bed and then drew the cover back on him.

"Thanks, Pearl," Steven mumbled sleepily.

"You get some rest, bud," Greg said. "We'll wake ya when it's time for dinner."

"Okay," Steven yawned. From out of the corner of her eye, she saw something small and furry bound onto Steven's bed with him. She had forgotten that Gem monsters apparently weren't the only creatures becoming attached to the boy.

"Heeey," Steven greeted, smiling lopsidedly. The cat grew close, cuddly close to Steven before curling into a ball at his side. "Goodnight, Roscoe."

"Roscoe?" Greg asked. "Where'd ya get that name?"

But it was too late. Steven and the cat were already fast asleep.

"I suppose we have to keep it now," Pearl said. That was how naming an animal worked for humans, if she understood correctly.

"Yeah," Greg sighed. Nonetheless, he didn't look particularly displeased.

Taking only a moment to watch the dozing child, Pearl and Greg quickly left the bed, closing the door as they did. Without even really thinking about it, Pearl walked over to the couch and then nearly collapsed onto it.

"Busy day, huh?" Greg asked as he sat down next to her.

Pearl nodded numbly. It hadn't been one, not until the Crystal Gems had burst in. They had a way of making even the most peaceful of things chaotic.

But they weren't to blame for her own tumultuous feelings. The realisation of the danger her family had been in, her own failing in regard to the drones, the idea of how Steven would surely be undergoing further attempts to heal more Gem monsters— Pearl wished no true ill will on the corrupted Gems. Indeed, they had her sympathy. The fate that had befallen them, rebel or not, was truly terrible. But… Pearl did _not_ want Steven around the Crystal Gems. She had tolerated his growing friendship with the Amethyst, who hadn't fought in the war and thus was really only a rebel in name only. Pearl said little about his lessons with the fusion, which were important, and seemed to be helping him.

But such missions, to hunt down corrupted Gems, no doubt Rose Quartz would lead those personally. And no doubt Pearl would be barred from joining every mission, just as she was with Steven's lessons. Which would mean leaving Steven _with_ Rose Quartz, without Pearl there to protect him when she inevitably got carried away.

That idea made her almost sick with worry and fear.

"Hey, Pearl? You alright?"

Pearl raised her head back up, Greg's voice bringing her back to the RV. She looked over at him and he was looking back, a concerned look on his face.

"You just looked like you were mulling over something big," he said.

Pearl missed a beat, before asking, "Greg? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Pearl. Anything."

"Do you… think things could ever be like they used to?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Pearl paused, gathering her thoughts. "Like they were back in Korea. When it was just us, living our lives together and… There were no complications. Just… us."

Greg was silent for several long seconds, simply staring at his hands, before he answered, "I don't think things can ever be like that again, Pearl," he said heavily. "Too much has changed now. I think the best we can do is try and build a better, more comfortable life for all of us."

Pearl let out a weary huff. "Yes. I suppose so."

She closed her eyes, leaning back in her chair. She leaned, just slightly against Greg's arm. He didn't seem to mind, luckily, and the support felt good to Pearl.

If nothing else, she needed to prepare for that corrupted Gem. Living so close to the RV now, precautions would be needed. She'd get more drones, both for personal storage and to leave in the RV. And she'd get a barrel of water too, to leave outside the RV. A quick weapon for Lapis if she needed it. And speaking of Lapis, Pearl would need to ask her to increase her flybys of the Temple. A closer eye would probably be wise. And Pearl herself could probably help too. After all, Rose always said to her that she could come to the Temple whenever she wanted to. And…

Pearl's thoughts became slower and began to scatter, before without even meaning to, Pearl fell asleep, pressed against Greg who was also fast asleep. They both slept until the evening, when Steven woke them up for dinner.

* * *

Garnet walked down the beach to the Temple, Biggs at her side.

Just _thinking_ those words hardly felt real.

She wished she could say she'd forgotten how long it had been since she'd watched all her friends lose themselves, but she doubted she'd ever forget, no matter how much time passed. She wished she could say she knew when her sense of hope had begun to fade, but…

That didn't matter now. Biggs was here, Biggs was _Biggs_ , after all that time.

When they arrived at the Temple, Pearl and Amethyst's reactions were predictable: drawn weapons and fierce cries. Biggs' too, was only to be expected— drawing back, pawing at the ground, growling.

Garnet rested a soothing hand on her flank, wishing Steven had accompanied them after all. They had been so excited for this reunion, but perhaps they had moved too quickly—

Too late for that. Garnet cried, "Don't attack!"

"It's okay!" Rose said, stepping between her friends like a shield. "Biggs isn't dangerous! Steven healed her!"

"Partly," Garnet added quickly.

"Woah… What?" Amethyst's whip didn't disappear, but she shuffled in for a closer look on all fours.

Pearl didn't lower her weapon at all. Her eyes narrowed. "This— _creature_ does not look healed."

The explanation was given again. Pearl and Amethyst sized Biggs Jasper up, who was doing the same to them.

Amethyst was meeting Biggs for the first time, and showed nothing but excitement for this new turn of events. Pearl and Biggs, however… they were old friends, from very early in the rebellion. Pearl's expression was a unflinching mask, unwilling to let herself show recognition or hope. Biggs, for her part, showed no recollection at all.

Because she didn't remember them. She didn't remember _anything_.

"She remembers some things," Rose Quartz said quickly. "Steven explained to us. She remembers the last day or so, everything since she was healed, and certain details of the past. She recognises things around her— trees and Gem types and animals—"

"Like she's fresh out of the ground?" suggested Amethyst, poking at one of Biggs spines.

"You didn't know about all of those when we found you," Garnet reminded her. Homeworld only considered information pertaining to Gem-kind specifically important enough to install into a Gem's base gemetics.

"More like her personal memories have been wiped," said Pearl, free hand tightening into a ball.

Garnet nodded, but added, "Not just that. Her language—"

As if on queue, Biggs barked at Amethyst for prodding her in the side. Delighted, Amethyst barked back.

She couldn't _talk_. Not in Gem, or in any human language. It wasn't that her mouth was the wrong shape. She just… couldn't understand it.

Steven could though. He understood animals. And that was what Biggs was now. An animal.

…still. Better than a monster.

"Ohh, that's so _cool_!" said Amethyst, transforming into a purple mirror of the creature. Biggs backed away in surprise, then perked up, her tail wagging. The two quartzes began to wrestle in a clearly playful manner.

Pearl clutched at her chest.

Garnet came in on one side, holding her shoulder. Rose came to her other. Pearl leaned into her side, very slightly.

"This— I—" Pearl stammered.

"I know," said Rose. "I know. But… it's progress. Don't you see, Pearl?"

Pearl nodded.

Garnet watched Biggs, sprawled out on her back, letting Amethyst crawl over her belly. The first time Biggs had met humans, only days after she'd joined the Crystal Gems, she'd allowed a litter of puppies to do the same. With a lap full of small dogs, she had declared, " _This may be the greatest day of my life_."

Breaking away from her friends, Pearl strode forward. Came to stand before Biggs Jasper. Bent down.

"Do you remember me?" Pearl asked.

Making an inquisitive noise, Biggs rolled back over. Amethyst yelped as she was thrown off.

"You… you _must_ ," Pearl continued. "You remember how we met? You came after us for 'stealing' your friend. Then you tried to _rescue_ me." Pearl laughed, but it was a pained sound. "I put a sword through you."

Garnet allowed herself a ghost of a smile. It was funny, how many early rebels had been made at Pearl's swordpoint.

Biggs just stared, uncomprehending.

Pearl stared back.

Biggs licked her in the face.

Pearl's face crumpled. Soundlessly, she backed away.

In Garnet's mind, she felt Ruby and Sapphire grip each other for comfort.

So. That was that.

Pearl and Garnet stood to the side, watching their old friend. They hadn't seen her in millennia— so many monsters, scattered across the entirety of the Earth, even future vision hadn't been enough to find them all. But she was better than she'd been in all that time, surely. Rolling around in the sand, playing with Amethyst and Rose, just three Quartzes wrestling as they were want to do.

But as much as Rose Quartz genuinely seemed to have lost herself in the moment, Garnet knew her well enough recognise the tension in her shoulders that didn't quite fade.

They lost track of time. It was twilight when Garnet said, "It's strange."

Pearl said nothing.

"We used to talk about what we'd do after the War," Garnet continued. "Biggs said she wanted to try everything. But I bet she never thought—"

"Garnet," Pearl interrupted, not looking her in the eyes. "I can't. Not— not now."

Garnet nodded. She understood.

"We have time."

Pearl nodded, and went to her room, alone.

* * *

Here were some things that Biggs liked:

She liked playing on the beach. Rolling in the sand, jumping in the waves.

She liked the weird smells in Amethyst's den.

She liked how Rose Quartz and the fusion would pet her hair.

She liked her conversations with the Blue One, who was really called Steven, even though they were often very confusing.

She liked napping next to the lion, calm and content.

There were some other things she didn't like. She didn't like either Pearl, who were loud and grumpy and kind of frightening. She didn't like humans who yelled or ran when she got close. She didn't like how she had to wait for other Gems to use a warp pad. She didn't like some of her dreams.

She didn't like the feeling that there were big, big important things that she should understand, but just _couldn't_.

But Biggs had spent a long, long time, not liking things. Not liking _anything_. Being angry and sad and scared, always always always.

Biggs was tired of it.

She had a home now. She knew what a home _was_. She was going to enjoy it.

* * *

 **Authors' Note:** Welcome to our new Monday posting schedule! We'd like to thank everyone for their patience!

This coming Thursday (the 27th) is the first year anniversary of the fic. It's kind of ridiculous to think about how quickly that passed. We'd like to thank everyone for their support this whole time.

To celebrate, we're going to do an in-character ask party on the teamfadedblue tumblr. Feel free to head over, and drop in questions for anyone from Blue Pearl to Garnet to Ronaldo to answer :)


	39. Movers and Shakers

**Authors' Note:**  
 **WARNING:** This chapter contains spoilers for the new episodes, 'Can't Go Back' and 'A Single Pale Rose'. If you haven't watched them yet, do it. This fic isn't going anywhere.

Also, sidenote: we're onto Writing Doc Three. Welcome to _Faded Blue 3: The Bloopening!_

* * *

 **Chapter Thrirty-Nine: Movers and Shakers**

"Are you certain about this, dear?"

"Yeah, Pearl. I'm sure." Steven smiled reassuringly at her. "Moving the Palanquin just makes sense."

And it did, really. Not just because the last time he'd been there, he'd gotten attacked by a monster. If he wanted to avoid monster attacks, moving closer to Beach City was the opposite of the right choice.

It was just... the RV was nice and all, but it was frankly too small for three people. Four, if you counted Lapis. Five, if you counted a rapidly growing kitten. Steven missed his own bed, his stuffed animal corner, story time on the throne.

That was not to say that Steven wouldn't miss Korea a little. Or maybe even a lot. Damyang would always feel like a home to him. But things had been changing. He'd been spending more and more time with Connie and Amethyst, and of course there were his ongoing lessons with Garnet. Plus, even though he hadn't been asked, Steven suspected that Rose would like him to continue translating for Biggs.

And… the truth was, the thought of getting further away from the broken, pink Palanquin was also very appealing. Lately, it had seemed to start to sting in whole new way…

Pearl hummed, long and low. Her eyes flicked, and Steven followed her gaze towards Garnet and Amethyst.

"Just be careful," she said softly.

"I will," Steven said, with a confidence he didn't entirely feel.

" _Yoooooooo_!" Amethyst cried. "We getting started or what?"

Steven cried back, "Yeah, just one sec—"

"Wait." Pearl took a step forward, her shoulders squared and her gaze steady on the two Crystal Gems. "You must promise us nothing will go awry here."

"We're just gonna be carrying it," Amethyst said, rolling her eyes. "What exactly are you afraid of? That we'll drop it or something?"

Pearl said nothing, just stared at them, nonplussed.

Steven shuffled his feet anxiously. He wished, again, that he had enough control of his powers to figure out how to move the Palanquin himself. So that they wouldn't have to rely on the Crystal Gems doing this to help him.

"Nothing bad will happen," Garnet said, touching her glasses.

"You gave the same reassurance before the mission in Nigeria," said Pearl. "We trusted you then, and Steven was nearly _killed_ by a monster. Why should we trust you now?"

"He wasn't almost _killed_ —" Amethyst interjected, but she was ignored.

"I'm sorry," Garnet said. First to Steven, then shifting to look at Pearl. "Even I can be surprised. I should have been more thorough last time. But I promise there will be no danger here."

Steven nodded, but Pearl still wasn't satisfied.

"How can you be _certain_?"

"Because on a mission, the danger comes from outside. Something beyond our control. But this is me." Garnet grinned at Amethyst. "This is us."

Amethyst grinned back. "Yeah dude! LET'S MASH IT UP!"

It was not, perhaps, the most reassuring thing she could have said just then.

But if Pearl (or Steven) had any more doubts, there was no chance left to air them. They could only watch, wide-eyed, at the dance that unfurled before them. Amethyst laughing, spinning around and wiggling her butt. Garnet gyrating, waving her arms in a way that was almost mesmerizing. They seemed to settle into a rhythm, as if following a beat only they could hear. Garnet spread her limbs wide— Amethyst jumped at her—

There was a flash of blinding purple light.

Steven blinked away the fading afterimage of a _dragon_ , and looked up... and up... and up...

The fusion was _huge_.

Her head was thrown back as she roared, which Steven belatedly realized was laughter. "TAKE A LOOK EVERYONE! I'M _BACK_!"

How could anyone _not_ look at her? She had four arms! She had glasses the size of a truck! She had fangs bigger than _he_ was!

Pearl was gripping his shoulder tight enough that it almost hurt. Steven realized they'd both taken step backwards without realizing.

He wished they hadn't. He really, _really_ didn't want to insult _this_ fusion.

But she hadn't seemed to notice— or if she had, she must have found it funny, because she grinned.

"Hey there, shorties. Name's Sugilite. I'd ask ya yours but—" she let loose another barking laugh "—I already know 'em."

So. Fusions could remember everything their components did. That was good to keep in mind. And it did make sense. They wouldn't have been particularly useful soldiers in the war if they'd forgotten their missions and their commanders the moment they formed.

A shadow fell over them as Sugilite leaned over and held out her clenched fist. Steven stared at it for a moment before realizing she was asking for a fist bump.

Steven carefully tapped his hands against hers. She laughed. " _HA_! THAT ALL YA GOT?"

He grimaced and tried again, winding up his arm and fist-bumping her with as much force as he dared.

"THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!"

Sugilite straightened up, and walked in a lazy circle around the Palanquin, something which took her about five steps. Five earth-shaking steps. Clouds of startled birds flew up from the forest, and Steven's heart sank. He'd wanted to say goodbye to them before he'd left. He wasn't sure when he'd be back.

"So," Sugilite said, gripping the Palanquin's tip and wiggling it back and forth as if to test its weight. "Ya just want me to carry this?"

"Be careful with it!" Pearl cried, letting go of Steven and running forward.

"Aw, darn. Here I was, planning to use it as a back scratcher." She waved a single, massive hand at Pearl. "Chill out, Pearl. You're worse than Pearl."

Pearl scowled. Despite himself, Steven smirked.

Sugilite scratched the back of her neck. "Say… I think I could use a little help."

Steven and Pearl exchanged glances, wondering what possible help either of them could offer the giant… and a little afraid that she was going to rope in Rose Quartz to make an even _larger_ fusion.

"Why don'tcha get up here and tell me where this has got to go?"

Steven blinked. He pointed at his chest, "Me?"

"Sure," said Sugilite. "Pearl too, if she wants to."

"No," Pearl refused flatly.

Sugilite let out another bone rattling laugh. "Can't really say I'm surprised there."

Steven fiddled with the strings of his hoodie, unsure. Pearl didn't have to say anything to make it clear what she felt about him get any closer to the fusion than he had to. But declining an invitation would be rude… and Pearl had always said that blue Gems were natural diplomats…

"Alright." His voice warbled only a little bit.

Sugilite bared a toothy, pointy smile. "Well, well. Someone's game. Alright, go ahead and step up."

The fusion laid one of her hands flat like a platform, and Steven stepped carefully onto it. It was hard as tarmac underfoot. His stomach lurched as he was raised up, and he flung out his arms to remain steady. Then he had to step onto her shoulder, where he quickly sat down, clutching the fabric of her collar so he wouldn't fall off.

He was… high up.

Really, _really_ high up.

And it was so _cool_.

"You like that, little Gem?" Sugilite laughed.

"Y-yeah!"

He could see everything! The Palanquin below him, the fields full of summer flowers, the stream where they got water, the village miles and miles away…

There was a grunt as Sugilite hoisted the Palanquin up. "Alright. Now that I've got a face-full of palanquin, I can't see a thing. So you're gonna have to tell me where to walk so I don't accidentally step on, like Pearl, or a whole town. Capiche?"

"Capiche," said Steven nodding.

It was like some crazy game, Steven craning his neck left and right to get a proper view, shouting out instructions— 'right, left, left, left, a little more right!' Mostly Sugilite had no problems, even if she did sometimes pretend to go the wrong way… or accidentally crush a tree beneath her. Steven got in the habit of calling out in every animal language he could, telling them to run off, just in case his friends hadn't gotten the message already.

It was in this manner that they got to the warp pad, Sugilite kicking away the bushes hiding it. She barely fit on it by herself… and definitely didn't fit at all with the Palanquin there. They decided to send Pearl ahead with the Palanquin first. Steven pointed out then that they wouldn't be able to warp after her without dropping right on top of it, but Sugilite waved the concern away.

"Rose'll be there waiting. She ain't no _me_ obviously, but she can handle pushing something like this a couple feet."

Steven nodded. He knew Rose was strong, she'd have to be to be the leader of the Rebels. But moving the Palanquin on her own? That would make her almost as strong as a Diamond.

Even though Pearl's expression could barely be read from so high up, she was plainly not pleased to leave him unaccompanied. But she could see this was the most sensible course of action, and left them with only a soft 'stay safe'.

He sat on Sugilite's shoulder, waiting until they could be sure the coast was clear.

Neither of them spoke. As chatty as Sugilite had been before, without anything to do, she seemed to have run out of things to say.

Steven looked at her massive face sidelong. Being silent was par for the course for Garnet… but Amethyst would have had some comment ready. Some joke or comment or something. How much of her was still in there? What if Sugilite decided to never unfuse? Would she just be stuck as a fusion forever?

He was interrupted by a loud shriek from above.

" _Nari!_ " Steven squawked. " _What are you doing here?_ "

The sounds which came out of her mouth weren't words, so much as expressions of fear and relief and a threat to claw out this predator's eyes if it was hurting him.

" _No, no! It's okay. This is Sugilite. She's helping me move my Palanquin_."

" _Your nest_?"

" _Yeah. My nest_."

Nari fluttered around his head. " _You are leaving._ "

" _...Yeah. Sorry Nari._ "

" _Do not apologize. All migrate when the seasons change_."

" _Well, not_ all _bird species—_ "

Nari gave a cheep that was equal parts annoyance and affection. She landed on his shoulder, and nipped his ear.

"Ouch!"

"Need me to crush that for you?" Sugilite asked.

"No!" Steven shouted. "Don't you dare!"

Sugilite raised a couple of hands placatingly. "Hey, just checking."

Nari fluttered her wings, feathers brushing Steven's cheek. " _She new flock_?"

" _I—_ " Steven paused, and considered. 'Flock' seemed as good a description as any. " _Yeah. Part of it._ "

The hawk's head bobbed, seemingly satisfied.

She was beautiful, Steven thought, all golds and russets. " _I'm going to miss you, Nari. I'm sorry I haven't been around a lot. I promise that I'll visit regularly, okay?_ "

Again, the answer didn't come in words. Just a sense of understanding, and thankfulness, and comfort. There was brief pain as her talons dug into her shoulder, and then Nari was gone, taking off into the forest to find her next meal.

"Huh," said Sugilite.

Steven looked at her, but she didn't elaborate. She said, "Well, I figure they've probably moved the Palanquin by now. Let's move out."

Steven nodded. Sugilite stepped onto the warp pad, and together they beamed away.

The blue light died, and when they reappeared at the Barn, it was evening. Cicadas hummed in the distance. Dad and Pearl were standing next to the Palanquin, debating where it could go, while Rose stood to the side, apparently inspecting a nearby bush.

"Steven! Sugilite!" She beamed as she stood up. "Wonderful to see you."

"Wonderful to _be_ me," Sugilite said, and Rose laughed.

Dad was much more thrown, but he was doing his best to hide it. "Hey Schtoo-ball! Pearl and I were wondering where you'd want this! Closer to the warp pad, or—"

"Nearer to the barn," Steven said. That place was filled with all sorts of cool old plane parts. He couldn't wait to explore it.

From his perch on Sugilite's shoulder, Steven could see the ocean. And below them was Beach City, the Temple's two faces visible. Steven smiled.

Yeah. That would make a good new home.

—

Steven knew that setting up a new home base wasn't something that was going to happen overnight, even with Dad and Pearl and Lapis all working on it. While the Palaquin proper was mostly all set up, it was getting things organised in the barn itself. Steven itched to help out, but there was something more important for him to tend to first.

He had to admit, with some degree of reluctance, that Rose Quartz's private garden really was quite nice. The sound of running water (or tears) was soothing, the fragrance of flowers was heavy and sweet, and the chatter of distant birds was relaxing. It probably helped that it was daytime now, and that there wasn't an angry fusion trying to beat him and his family into a pulp.

But there was still an uneasy squirming in his stomach that had (mostly) nothing to do with memories of how he'd been captured.

Floating in the air in front of him was a red bubble holding a gemstone.

At his side was Rose Quartz, one hand resting on his shoulder She had reassured him multiple times today: he could do this. He had already healed one corrupted Gem. He could do it again.

More reassuring was Garnet's quiet presence on the other side of the fountain. With her Watching, Steven was less afraid he might mess up. But at the same time, she hadn't assured him that he'd be successful… He quickly looked away from her, refocusing.

"Are you ready?" Rose asked.

Steven clenched his fists, then nodded. "Yeah. Let's do it."

He could remember how it had been last time. Practically unconscious. He'd just started singing, and… it happened— a wave of cool power, radiating out of his chest, into his entire body, and out of his mouth as song.

That was what he tried to summon then. He thought about the poor bubbled Gem— an Obsidian— and how scared she had to be, and how unfair it was that she was like this, and how happy everyone would be if she could be healed—

The words of _Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star_ came out of his mouth. But there was no flow of magic, no glow from his gem, no surge of exhaustion. But still, Steven sang until the end of the song.

"Alright," said Rose, moving forward. "Let's see."

She gently popped the bubble. There was a paradoxical flash of black light, and a body began to form. Steven couldn't help but step away as he saw it— something tall and thin and lithe. Like a jaguar, but with spines running down its back and a tail ending in a mace.

The instant it formed, it _roared_.

Steven got no understanding from the roar— nothing but pure, mindless fear and rage.

Rose stepped in front of him, her shield materializing on her arm is a wave of light and sparkles. "Try singing again!"

Steven tried, he really did. He sang _Twinkle Twinkle Little Star_ , _Gom Se Mari_ , and _Like a Comet_. He sang even as the Obsidian monster charged, even as Garnet and Rose fought to keep it at bay, even when his voice broke with fear.

He felt no rush of power, no healing light. The music was just that: music. And the monster was just a monster.

At one point, the monster got dangerously close, so close that Steven could see himself reflected in her pitch black eyes. That was when Garnet pulled him back in a massive hand, punching the monster in the jaw. Rose Quartz came with her sword, destroying its physical form in a single slice.

It had just enough time to let out a cry of clear pain. Steven winced, knowing it was his fault.

Rose picked up the gem and quickly bubbled it, hesitating only a moment before she sent it away with a single tap.

Everything went blurry as Steven's eyes filled with tears.

Immediately he blinked them away, discreetly trying to wipe at them with the sleeve of his hoodie.

Why hadn't it _worked_?

Steven flinched as he felt something touch his head. Glancing up, he saw it was only Garnet. She was as hard to read as ever with her tinted glasses, but there was something comforting in her expression. It made him feel pretty bad about the flinching.

Rose Quartz was still staring at the space the bubble had gone. There were tears running down her cheeks, and she hadn't bothered to rub them away.

"I'm sorry," Steven said, the words seeming too small for the well of shame inside him.

"No. It's not your fault," said Rose.

"It _is_ ," said Steven. "I healed Biggs, I should be able to heal all of them—"

"You can try again," said Garnet. "The powers that you've shown… They are still very mysterious. To all of us, not just you. It will just take more time, and practice."

That was easy for her to say, when she could See practically everything!

Rose Quartz sat on the rim of the fountain's basin, and gently patted the space next to her. She said, "Steven."

Steven glanced briefly at Garnet, who nodded, before starting towards the garden's exit. With only a little hesitation, Steven came to sit next to the Crystal Gem's leader. He made sure to leave a little space between them. He knew that was kind of silly, since he'd literally passed out in her arms, but he couldn't help it.

"It's truly not your fault." Rose's voice was firm and sure sounding, but at the same time still held that gentle air about it that she spoke so easily with.

Steven gripped the cool stone. "But it is," he said. "I didn't make them like this, but if I can heal them... And even then, it's not like Biggs is back to normal. She's just kind of a little better, so— And I'm a _Diamond_! I should be able to do this!"

"This is something beyond the power of a single Diamond," said Rose, giving one of the saddest sighs he'd ever heard.

Steven stared down at his feet. Garnet was right. He could keep trying. He _would_ keep trying. He'd done it once before, so he could do it again. Practice made perfect, right? That's what Pearl and Dad always told him.

Steven kept focused on his sandaled feet, his mind still wondering. "Why do you think I was only able to do it part way like that?"

Rose looked thoughtful. "I have… a theory. But I can't be sure it's correct."

Steven tilted his head. Rose sighed, seemed to steel herself, and continued.

"The Diamonds are— were— all different, not just in terms of personalities, but in their powers as well. White Diamond's domain is the mind. Yellow Diamond's the body. And Blue… Blue's was emotional."

Lightning, sadness waves. Steven nodded. This made sense.

Briefly, he wondered what Pink Diamond's powers had been, and quickly decided against asking.

"The Corruption was the will of three Diamonds," Rose Quartz continued. "They brought their combined power to bear against the planet. You have but a single Diamond, and were only able to reverse the damage Blue left. You stabilized Biggs's emotions, allowing her to think calmly and rationally for the first time in millenia. But her body, and her memories…"

"I… won't be able to fix those," said Steven.

"Now, I never said _that_. It just might be… trickier."

Steven curled his fists.

"No, no, it's alright." Rose's voice was very gentle. "You've done a good thing. Biggs is happier than she's been in a long, long time. A partial cure is better than nothing, isn't it?"

Steven sniffled, feeling too miserable to concede this. Instead, he said, "But— but what if— if I never do manage it for anyone else—?"

"Then we'll do what we can to keep them all as comfortable as possible, same as we always had." Rose smiled, something hopeful glittering in her eyes. "But we can figure something out. I'm sure of it."

Steven considered this, and smiled. He reached out, laying his small hand on top of her massive hand, and squeezed gently. Rose flipped hers around, taking his hand into her palm, and squeezed back.

* * *

Pearl had always thought of herself as a seasoned warrior, capable of going toe-to-toe— and winning!— against the most skilled soldiers of Homeworld. But it was one thing to fight quartzes as the Renegade, and quite another to keep up with them during play.

She rubbed the space between her eyebrows as Amethyst and her 'new friend' crashed into yet another stalagmite. The impact was strong and loud enough that Pearl automatically eyed the high ceiling for any falling debris. They may have created the inner sanctums of the Temple to be able to withstand almost any attack, but the catacombs wasn't the most stable of places. At least it didn't have anything they couldn't risk losing, which made it perfect for some... roughhousing.

As much as she enjoyed watching Amethyst wreck some crystal pillars, however, keeping an eye on the two of them was simply exhausting. So after making sure they were far enough from the pools leading to other parts of the Temple, Pearl decided to leave them to their fun.

She activated her gem to open the Temple door and step outside, only to be surprised by the brightness outside. The light faded, revealing itself to be from the warp pad, with only a single figure standing there instead of the expected three.

"Garnet!" Pearl greeted, walking up to her. She tried to ignore the nervous knot in her chest. "How did it go? Did it work?"

Garnet didn't shake her head, but the way she patted and squeezed Pearl's shoulder said enough.

"We'll try again another time," Garnet said. "Steven has been making great progress in his training with me, but this is something entirely new and different. He'll need time to learn how to control it before we can start healing the others."

"I... I see." Pearl grimly nodded. "And Rose?"

"Still talking with Steven."

Neither of them seemed to have anything else to add to the conversation, so with a quick nod and another shoulder squeeze, Garnet went inside the Temple and left Pearl alone with her thoughts.

Pearl watched her leave, her hands gripping her arms as she started to pace in front of the cave entrance. She knew it had been a long shot from the start, they all did. But when she first saw the Gem monster that had stopped behaving like a monster, it gave her a glimmer of hope that maybe... maybe...

No. Hope was a volatile thing to have, she should know. She knew all about hope. A little was enough to corrode tyranny and spark rebellion; a lot could change the whole universe.

But not this.

Hope could not undo the damage from the Diamonds' attack. If it could, they should have already fixed this a long time ago.

The warp pad activated behind her with a whoosh. Pearl spun around to find Rose stepping off the warp pad, alone. She seemed surprised to find Pearl standing there just past the cave opening.

"You're back," Pearl said, approaching her. "How did it go?"

"It didn't work." Rose smiled, but it only made her seem more tired and sad. "But I'm sure Garnet has already told you as much."

"Steven?"

"I walked him home to be sure he arrived safely. Blue Pearl and Greg seemed to appreciate that." Rose cupped Pearl's cheek, fingers lightly brushing the gem on her forehead. Pearl leaned into her touch. "How were things on your end?"

"Amethyst gave the mons— gave her a tour of her room. She wanted to show her the rest of the Temple as well, but I convinced her that we should all do that together. They were 'quartzing around' in the crystal catacombs, last I checked. Far from any connecting pools or pathways."

Rose nodded thoughtfully. "They seem to get along swimmingly."

"I'm not that surprised, to be honest. Amethyst has always been rowdy and Biggs had been— was— is also the playful type." Pearl frowned at her fumbling tenses, but she wasn't entirely sure which one was applicable in this situation. Softly, she continued, "I'd often thought Amethyst would enjoy her company, if things had turned out differently..."

She had thought about that scenario before, most especially when Amethyst would sidle up to her and just be her annoyingly endearing self. Moments when their little quartz would remind Pearl of her old friends, and Pearl would think to herself, 'Ahh, if only she could have met them...'

Here and now though, the opportunity had presented itself. Similar to Amethyst, Biggs Jasper had been the youngest of the Crystal Gems for much of their early days, having just emerged a couple years before Pearl had first met her. She'd used to skip out on her training a lot, opting instead to spend her time watching Pearl and Rose spar, or pestering Garnet with questions about fusion, among other things. She had always seemed infinitely curious about anything and everything. But underneath that innocent sense of wonder, Biggs had possessed a fiercely protective streak. That had been how she had joined the Crystal Gems in the first place— to protect someone she'd loved.

And I... We hadn't been able to protect any of them in the end.

Pearl thought that she'd never see any of her old friends again in any form, thought that all she'd see of them anymore were the monsters they'd become since that day when the red sky had turned bright and the Diamond Song had roared across the entire planet...

But then again, this Biggs Jasper was not the same Biggs she had known five thousand years ago. She had a different body, a different personality, a different set of memories. She didn't even recognize Pearl, or any of them. She might as well have been an entirely different Jasper, even if her gem had the right placement and the right Song.

Or she could just be a different Jasper now, because of how much she'd been changed.

Maybe her old friend was really gone.

Pearl breathed out a heavy sigh. If hope was volatile, a false hope was even more gem-shatteringly devastating, especially when confronted with the truth. And the truth was, Pearl didn't know how much more she could take it— finding and losing her friends, finding and losing her hope for them, again and again throughout millennia forever and ever. Earth was supposed to be their safe haven away from Homeworld— hers and Rose's and all the Crystal Gems'. But things like this had transformed it into a personalized torture chamber, and Pearl didn't know how much more she could take of this punishment too great for the crime of only wanting to be free.

"Pearl?" asked Rose. Her voice sounded so far away. "Pearl, are you still with me?"

Pearl blinked. She'd been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed how closely Rose had been peering at her face. She could almost see her own reflection in Rose's concerned eyes.

"I'm here," said Pearl. She leaned her forehead against Rose's, before seeking comfort in the crook of her neck. Large, soft arms encircled her protectively.

"You seemed so lost just now, I was starting to worry," said Rose, combing her fingers through Pearl's short hair. "Is something the matter?"

"I think we need to talk," she mumbled into Rose's skin. "Privately."

"Okay."

Pearl warped them to the strawberry battlefield. She felt it was fitting for the conversation. She and Rose walked side by side, shoulder to shoulder, neither leading the other, like they knew where they were headed even without saying a word. Soon, they reached the floating land masses just past the cliff's edge, the peak of which was the very place they had once sworn to stay and fight for Earth.

Once they reached the top, Pearl faced Rose, standing to her full height despite the anxiety shaking her very core. She had so many questions, some of which she could never ask aloud. Instead, she opted for a safer, tangentially related topic.

"Do you think there's a real chance to heal the corruption, with Steven's powers?" she asked Rose.

"A better chance than doing things on my own, at the very least," Rose replied. "But that's not why you brought us here, is it?"

Ah, but of course. Rose was very perceptive when it came to Pearl.

She gently clasped both of Pearl's hands with her own, their fingers interlocking. "What's wrong, Pearl? You can tell me."

Pearl opened her mouth, but simply closed it again without saying anything. Pursing her lips, she looked away so that Rose couldn't see it in her eyes, the storm of emotions she couldn't express in words.

There were many things she wanted to talk about, things she wanted to tell everyone, but couldn't. Not even with Rose. There were things they were to never speak of again—and they were not—but the weight of the secrets they had kept from everyone except each other was bearing down on their shoulders, and it was only a matter of time before something had to give. She had thought that she had set this all behind her, that she had somehow learned how to move forward. But these recent events had put everything back into sharp relief, and the guilt of her own involvement was slowly chipping away at her sanity.

"Steven Universe..." Pearl finally managed to say, her words barely audible and nearly lost to the wind. "His Diamond powers are dangerous."

"That's why we're teaching him," said Rose. "He's learning control so he won't hurt—"

"I know," Pearl interrupted. "I know that, but... Rose, he can See the past. If he keeps getting better..."

"The past is a vast place. He hasn't Seen anything so far."

"But he could if he tried!" Pearl wanted to pull away and throw her hands in the air, but at the same time, she craved this small, intimate contact between them. So she stayed put.

"Pearl." Her name softly rolled off Rose's lips, entreating for her attention. "Pearl, would you look at me please?" A quick squeeze on her hands urged her to meet Rose's anxious gaze. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

"I'm just... worried. His powers are growing stronger everyday and—Rose, he healed Biggs. He healed her in a way not even you have been able to, and if his powers develop further... If he Sees the things that happened during the war, what we've done..."

Pearl felt tension jolt through her body, her shoulders, her arms, and she gasped, terrified of what that sensation meant. But Rose's grip on her hands was firm and comforting, tethering her to the here and now. Rose thumbed the back of her hands, soothing away whatever spell that had seized her.

"He won't," Rose firmly said.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I'm not." Rose heavily sighed. Then, in the same gentle and careful manner she handled delicate organic beings, she pulled Pearl closer, wrapping her arms around her lithe, willowy form. "Maybe I'm just being unrealistically optimistic about this, but I think we'll be okay somehow. For the longest time, we've been doing okay despite everything, haven't we?"

"I-I guess so..." Flustered, Pearl closed her eyes. She had always relished the feeling of being enclosed completely by Rose. In her arms, she felt safe.

Rose made her feel safe.

"Whatever happens, Pearl... Whatever comes to light, we'll face the outcome together. Just as we always have. Okay?"

"Okay." She nuzzled deeper into Rose's embrace. "I believe you, Rose. I trust you."

In Rose's arms, it seemed things would always be alright.

 _We'll be okay..._


	40. Forced

**AN:** Man, you folks caught up with the animated adaption of Faded Blue? We'll admit, making it an AU where Steven is the son of _Pink_ Diamond instead of Blue was a really bold choice, but we're interested to see where it goes.

 **Chapter Forty: Forced**

Connie was going for a picnic in Korea.

Just repeating those words made her stomach flip. Though that might have been the warp stream, making her tumble in the air. Amethyst laughed at her, while Steven helped spin her upside up. As the light vanished, it deposited her heavily on her butt, but Connie was giggling so hard she didn't even care.

She had taken an alien transportation pad to the other side of the world for a _picnic_!

The novelty of it all had her grinning ear to ear. Her eyes were adjusting to the sudden darkness, reeling from how it could already be twilight here when at home the sun had just risen. All the new plants and animals, the latter of which Steven introduced her to. The rocky path they traversed, dangerously close to a steep cliff, which made Connie feel like the protagonist in a really good adventure novel.

By the time they'd actually laid out the picnic basket, though, Connie had noticed that her friends weren't sharing in her excitement.

They were sitting in the clearing where the Palanquin had once stood, the marks it had left in the soft ground still visible. They had all sorts of tasty food laid out, there were birds joining them for snacks as if it was an animated film. The scenery was absolutely spectacular… but she seemed to be the only one enjoying it.

"Are you okay?" she asked Steven, as he examined a pickle from his sandwich.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Fine."

Connie pursed her lips. She knew about PTSD and stuff. Mom had always been really honest about those things. This was the place where Steven had fought that monster and passed out healing it. Was that giving him some sort of flashback or something?

No… No, that didn't seem quite right. Firstly, why would he have invited them out here if he didn't want to come? Secondly, looking back, he'd been kinda down since before they'd even left Beach City. And thirdly, it wasn't just him.

While Steven was only picking at his food, Amethyst was plowing through it. It wasn't with her usual gusto, though. She did it almost mechanically, and her eyes were distant, as if thinking about something else entirely.

"Ame?" Connie said.

"What?" Amethyst said through a mouthful of apple.

"Are you guys gonna tell me what's wrong?"

"Huh? Nothing's wrong," Amethyst said, as Steven froze.

Connie put a hand on her hip. "Come on. I'm not blind."

"You have glasses," Steven pointed out.

"That's not the same thing," said Connie.

"Glasses are so weird," Amethyst mused. "Needing stuff like, stuck to your eyes, just to see properly." She looked Connie over, than stuck out a hand. "Lemme try."

Connie blinked, and then in her mind, smiled. "Only if you tell me what's up."

"We already told you," Ame said, "nothing's 'up'—"

Steven sighed. "Come on. Let's just tell her. She's gonna find out anyway, and it's not like it's— it's a bad thing really."

"If ya say so," Ame muttered. She sighed too. "Okay. Fine."

Satisfied, Connie held out her glasses, the world going vague and misty. She felt Amethyst snatch the glasses from her hand. There was a giggling. "Man this is _weird_."

"Can I see?" asked Steven.

"Later," said Connie. She found her sandwich and took a bite. "First, your end of the deal."

"Fine." The purple blob in front of Connie moved in a way that suggested Amethyst was waving her hand. "Basically, we found out—"

"No no no," Steven interrupted. "You can't just tell it like _that_."

"Why not?" said Amethyst.

"Because, number one, that's not where it started. Number two, it's boring that way."

"It's not _boring_ to skip to the important parts."

"I want to hear the whole story," Connie interjected quickly.

Amethyst sighed. "Okay, fine. Take it away, Book Boy."

"Book Boy?" Steven squeaked. "Okay— nevermind." He cleared his throat. Connie took a huge bite of her sandwich, leaning forward with anticipation. " _Light shone brightly from the luminescent moon, reflecting off the serene surface of the Pacific Ocean, as a cool breeze blew my hair away from my face while Lapis Lazuli carried me across the limitless expanse—_ "

"Woah, hold up. Why're you talking like you ate a dictionary?" Amethyst interjected.

"It's _storytelling_ ," said Steven. "And I think you mean a thesaurus."

"So you agree with me!"

Connie didn't need to see to imagine the glare Steven was giving Amethyst.

"As I was _saying_ ," Steven said, plowing through, "I was flying with Lapis. I wanted to show her more of the Earth, and we'd ended up above the Atlantic Ocean…"

* * *

Lapis had been flying for hours, never once growing tired or faltering at all. But as she'd dangled Steven playfully above the water, he'd felt her grip loosen. He'd called out to her for help, but she hadn't seemed to hear him. They were descending rapidly, Steven's ears popping, his hands slipping—

— she'd come back to herself and caught him.

She apologized profusely, but still seemed dazed.

There was something in the water below. A small, circular island, too perfect to be natural, covered in crumbling columns.

"What's wrong?" Steven asked.

"This is where it happened," she said, distant. "The Galaxy Warp. Where I was…"

She trailed off as they landed. Steven looked around. He'd never seen so many warp pads in one place before. Or surrounded by any weird orb things.

"What are they?" he asked, picking one up. It struggled in his grasp.

"What's what?" Lapis said. She hadn't even noticed them, her eyes having gone glassy. The reflectiveness faded as she saw what Steven was holding, and the thirty or so others wandering around. Lapis frowned. "I… I don't know."

They looked like green marbles, each about the size of Steven's head. They had four little legs, not physically attached to the main body, but hovering a couple inches away from it. And embedded in one side was a nozzle, dripping with a viscous green liquid.

"Don't touch it," Lapis said sharply, as Steven reached out to do just that. "We— we don't know what it is, or where it came from."

"I can find out," Steven said. He set the marble-robot on the ground. It immediately set out to join its companions, swarming around the different warp pads.

He settled down on the cold stone, focusing on the lessons Garnet had given him. He closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and focused on what he wanted to See.

The world shifted. It was only twilight, and the air was a few degrees warmer. Steven looked up and around, getting his bearings, when something bright in the sky caught his gaze. It fell rapidly, landing with a _splash_ in the water.

Crawling to the island's edges, Steven saw an odd current in the water, the marble making its way towards the galaxy warp. It wasn't exactly designed for swimming, and was pretty slow.

It didn't need to be. A moment later, a warp pad activated behind Steven. Spinning, he saw it deposit another one of those marbles, which made a beeline for the biggest warp pad. It began spraying it with the green liquid. Soon another warp pad activated, then another, and another, and another. All of them brought the marbles. Soon there were dozens and dozens of them, close to a hundred. Eventually the one from the ocean joined them, dripping water as it went. All of them swarmed the pad.

Then in unison, the marbles stepped away. In a flash of light, and the liquid vanished, leaving the warp pad sparkly and new.

It activated.

A new Gem arrived.

Even knowing she couldn't see him, Steven scooted back a little.

She was tall and robotic looking. Her fingers floated around in the air. The insignia on her chest and legs marked her as in the service of Yellow Diamond.

"Log Date 3 1 2." A holographic screen opened in front of her face as she looked around with professional disinterest. "This is Peridot, performing Earth hub maintenance check."

A _Peridot_! Steven knew all about Peridots. They were Homeworld's technicians and mechanics.

… but why would one be sent to Earth? Homeworld apparently didn't really care much about it anymore.

"Warp repair a success. All 79 robonoids deployed and accounted for. Preparing to locate and manually reactivate Kindergarten, and begin assessment of Cluster prototype experiments.

"Now to locate the domestic warp." The Peridot made her way down the stairs. "These warp pads are archaic in design, but all appear fully-repaired at least." She stepped onto one. Pressing a series of buttons on her screen, three of the marbles hurried to join her. "Domestic warp located. Initiating stage two."

And she disappeared.

* * *

"So what happened next?" Connie had completely forgotten about her sandwich, and was currently clutching it so hard that its filling was starting to spill out.

Nari hopped over and gobbled up some fallen tomato.

"What makes you think anything did happen next?" Amethyst said. Her tone was teasing, playful, but there was something… defensive in it, Connie thought.

"I mean… another Gem came from space and headed off to a 'kindergarten', whatever that is?" Somehow Connie doubted it meant crayons and naptime.

Amethyst didn't say anything. Connie couldn't see very well right now, but it looked like she might have hunched over.

"It's where Gems are made," Steven said, in a quiet voice.

"... oh?" said Connie, curious, but getting the sense that she shouldn't be too obvious.

Suddenly, something was thrust into Connie's hand. "Huh?"

"Your glasses," Amethyst muttered. "I'm done with 'em."

Slipping them back on, Connie could see that Amethyst was sitting with her head down, arms cross. Connie stiffened— wanting to reach out and comfort her, but didn't know why she was upset.

"My turn with the glasses!" Steven said.

Connie could begin to feel the start of a headache forming from looking through such blurry vision, but it was only fair. She handed them over. Steven goggled a little bit about how weird it was, but even that was subdued.

"So…" Connie began at length. "What happened?"

"Steven and Lapis basically stormed into the Temple, all freaked out and junk," Amethyst said. "But that was nothing compared to Pearl and Garnet when they were told what was going on. Rose made us all go to the Galaxy Warp. While Pearl went 'round squawking her head off, Garnet destroyed all the warp pads."

Amethyst paused. Steven didn't say anything, and neither did Connie.

Eventually, Amethyst began speaking again. "Rose had us split up."

"Split up?" said Connie.

"Yeah, 'cuz we didn't know which Kindergarten Perisnot had gone to. So Rose and Pearl and Bloop—"

"Bloop?"

"Blue Pearl," Amethyst said offhandedly.

"Do you have to call her that?" Steven said stiffly.

"It's less confusing," said Amethyst. Steven humphed. " _Anyway_ ," Amethyst continued, "they headed off to Beta. I was sent to lead the team to the main kindergarten with Garnet and Steven."

" _You_ weren't leading the team," argued Steven. "Garnet was."

"Emphasis on the _'was'_. 'Sides, I know the Kindergarten better than anyone. So we headed off, and left Lapis behind to guard the Galaxy Warp in case Perisnot came back…"

* * *

The Kindergarten looked as it always had.

Unconsciously, Amethyst took in a deep, long breath, savoring the familiar smell. Something inside of her had loosened.

She was the only one. Garnet was usually pretty stiff, but if it was possible, being in the Kindergarten made her even stiffer. And Steven was staring around with a wary expression.

"This… is a Kindergarten?" he asked.

Garnet said, "Yes."

She picked Steven up, and jumped to the ground below, putting him down quickly. Amethyst followed after them.

"I didn't expect it to… be like this." Steven grabbed a handful of dry dirt, which was blown away almost immediately. "It's so… desolate."

"Creating new Gems sucks the minerals and vital energy from the ground, making it incapable of sustaining other life. It's one of the primary reasons we rebelled," explained Garnet, voice low.

"Oh," Steven said flatly.

Amethyst kicked a rock.

"Shh," Garnet said. "Peridot might be here."

"She might not be," Amethyst muttered.

But she was.

It took barely five minutes to find her. Around the bend, in the area Amethyst had named Slippy Cliff, because she'd liked to climb to the top and slide down. Never, in all her thousands of years hanging out there, had she noticed the giant gaping hole in the ground.

Neither had she ever noticed dozens and dozens of _things_ just… flying there. Things that just looked like… mangled masses of hands and feet and eyes or wings, tangled together. Left on the ground, like slugs.

Garnet gasped.

"What— what are those?" Steven whispered.

Neither Amethyst or Garnet answered.

Peridot was facing away from them, pacing back and forth in front of the orderly lines of fused body-parts. One of her hands was being used to project some sort of glowy green field, suspending one of the things in the air. Her other hand's fingers had created a holoscreen, which was talking into.

"Subject No. 26. Fusion composed of a ruby, an aquamarine and flint. Gem size: approximately 25 by 15 by 7 milliquads. Projection size: approximately 44 by 22 by 12 MQ. Physical form composed primarily of a spherical mass covered six vocal emitters, three vision orbs, and one gravity connector. Ineffective for battle, or indeed, any function."

Peridot's angle shifted, and finally Amethyst could get a proper view of the thing she was holding.

It was a head. A Gem's head, in splotches of red and blue and grey. It had three eyes— not the same way Garnet had three. Two of them were in the usual place, but the other, the other, was on the cheek. It had a leg sticking out where a neck should be, and it was absolutely, absolutely covered in mouths.

" _Sick,_ " Amethyst whispered, somewhere between disgusted and enthralled.

Garnet shook her head, but said nothing.

"Trial 1," Peridot continued, still oblivious to their presence. "Heat resistance, to ascertain if the fusion has maintained the component ruby's high tolerance."

She dropped the fusion on the ground. It's single leg kicked ineffectively. Peridot's fingers rearranged themselves, and produced a bright white light. She held it against the fusion's side.

With six mouths, its screams were very loud, almost piercing through Amethyst's form.

"No," Garnet said, "No, _no_."

Amethyst swore. Garnet was shaking. Not just shaking, but _glowing_. Her horrified grimace was barely visible against the light.

Steven had taken a step away from her, but Amethyst rushed over, trying to grip her arms, steady her. It was like holding a warm cloud.

"W-who are you?" Peridot said, rearing on them. "What are you doing? Do you have permission to be on this planet?"

"Uhhhhhh," Steven said.

"G," Amethyst said, "Garnet, ya gotta stay with me—"

"These are Crystal Gems," Garnet muttered, "the shards of Crystal Gems. This is where they've been, the whole time— they were _forced_ together—"

"Who are you?" Peridot demanded again. "I'll have you reported!"

Garnet didn't notice. "They didn't choose this— this is punishment for the rebellion!"

" _Garnet_ ," Amethyst said.

But she didn't hold it together. She couldn't.

A burst of light, and Ruby and Sapphire collapsed onto the ground, clutching one another.

Amethyst didn't think. She just acted. Letting out a scream, she threw herself at Peridot.

Peridot didn't see it coming. She screeched as Amethyst rammed into her, the two tumbling to the ground. Amethyst brought up her hand and punched, once, twice, three times—

Gravity disappeared.

"Amethyst!" Ruby and Steven cried.

Amethyst was surrounded by green. She couldn't move at all, not even to wiggle her nose.

"Get away from me, you clod!" Peridot swung her suspension field, and threw Amethyst into a wall.

Amethyst laughed. It was gonna take a whole lot more than _that_ to take her down!

She charged again, summoning her whip. She was just about to catch Peridot around the waist, when instead Amethyst was once again caught in the suspension field.

Thankfully, her friends had gotten a hold of themselves. Ruby rammed into Peridot's side, and Amethyst was dropped again. This time, she landed right on top a few of the weirdo fusions. They squirmed and whimpered beneath her. Amethyst jumped quickly to her feet, only to find another of the fusions reaching out to her with a body made entirely of hands, grabbing at her feet, her hair…

Amethyst kicked it away.

Ruby had Peridot pinned against the cliff-face. Literally smoking, she growled, "Let's see what _your_ heat resistance is!"

"Guys!" Steven called. "Isn't there a way to— to sort this out or something?"

Sapphire floated past him, the temperature plunging around her. She said, "We are."

Amethyst leapt into the air. Power surged through her gem. Her teeth sharpened, her fingers transformed into claws, wings unfurled from her back— she rose into the sky, a mighty dragon—

* * *

"You didn't do that!" said Steven.

"I was about to!" argued Amethyst. "Until _you_ interrupted me. It would've been epic!"

"I stopped the fighting."

Amethyst blew hair out of her face. "I guess."

"How?" Connie asked, wishing again that she could see properly. Not that her glasses would have done much. Night proper had fallen, and it was very, very dark.

"I just told Peridot to stop," said Steven.

Connie's eyebrows went up. "That's it? And she just… stopped?"

Steven shifted uncomfortably. "Well… Not until I told her who I was…"

* * *

"Please, stop!" Steven said, rushing up, tugging on Ruby's shoulder.

Ruby stopped herself. Her face was a furious grimace. It softened just a fraction when she saw him. "She did this. She's— she's _torturing_ them—"

Steven couldn't deny that. But he also couldn't deny how scared Peridot looked, ambushed and outnumbered.

That didn't stop her from shooting them with an energy blast.

"DUCK!" Sapphire yelled, just in time.

Sapphire slammed into Steven, pushing him out of the way. Ruby dived in the other direction, letting out a yelp as she was grazed in the side.

"Take that, you clods!" Peridot screamed. She was holding one of her hands skyward, her fingers beginning to spin like a helicopter.

"No!" Steven cried, pushing himself back up. "I— I order you to stop!"

Peridot was already floating away. "And why should I listen to you, whatever you are?"

Amethyst had already turned into some wing shape, and was prepared to cut Peridot off. But if that happened, it would just be more fighting— Steven had enough unpleasant memories of that already.

"I'm Steven Diamond Universe," he said. He unzipped his hoodie, and pulled his shirt over his head.

Peridot stopped.

Her eyes widened.

"D-Diamond?" she said.

"Yeah." Steven's throat felt tight as he spoke. "Come down. Now. L-let's talk this out."

Slowly, warily, Peridot came down.

"Steven," Sapphire said in his ear. He couldn't understand the emotion in her voice. Ruby came to stand besides her, taking her hand.

Amethyst landed, taking a place behind Peridot, whip out.

Peridot approached. Her expression was skeptical, her brows narrowed. Her eyes kept darting between Steven's face and his gem. "... May I?" she said.

Steven gulped. "Sure."

A single finger floated out to press against Steven's gem. It felt weird. Not really like another person touching it at all.

Her holo-screen reappeared. Steven could read Gem, but not backwards, and even if he could, this language was too technical for him. There were all sort of complicated looking graphs. Peridot's eyes widened. "It's genuine." Immediately, her fingers flew back into place, and she snapped a salute. "Blue Diamond!"

"Well, not really—" He caught Amethyst making slicing motions across her neck. "Uh, never mind that right now. Um… stand down?"

"Ah! Of course!" Peridot said. "My deepest apologies, Blue Diamond, I had no idea you were on this planet— my manager didn't say anything—"

"It's… It's kind of a secret mission," Steven said, which wasn't entirely a lie.

(Ruby snorted.)

"I… understand," Peridot said, though her tone made it very clear she didn't.

"So. Um." Steven put his shirt back on, zipped up his zipper, pulled his hood up, and tried to look as authoritative as possible. "You're going to stop this, right now, and explain exactly what you're doing." As an afterthought, he added, "Please?"

And Peridot did. She explained why she had come to Earth. Explained that the forced fusions were so weak and lethargic because she'd equipped them with restraining devices, to lower the power output of their gems while she conducted her experiments. Explained that her assignment was partially to assess the functionality of forced-fusions as a method to recycle gem shards. Explained how the rest of her assignment was to use the data collected from them to predict how much longer the Cluster had to incubate, and what size it would be once it emerged.

Turned out the Cluster was a giant forced fusion composed of thousands and thousands of gem shards. And it was due to destroy Earth. Very soon.

Steven was surprised and _horrified_ by this revelation. The Crystal Gems were not.

After they had poofed each and every fusion experiment (as quickly and painlessly as possible), sending them off to Crystal Gem temple, they set off to find the others. Peridot came with them, tied up in Amethyst's whip. Even though he understood why, Steven still gave Peridot a sympathetic look. He knew how uncomfortable that was.

Peridot averted her eyes quickly, her cheeks turning a darker green.

In the Beta Kindergarten, they found Rose Quartz, as well as Pearl and Pearl-ssi. Them, _and_ a giant drill, still under construction.

"Steven!" Pearl cried, when she saw him. "Oh— you weren't supposed to see—"

"He knows," Sapphire said, and joined Ruby and Amethyst in explaining about Peridot, and what she'd been up to.

Steven looked between Pearl and drill she'd been building. "Why… why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh, sweetheart." Pearl placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's because you're an immature child who I can't trust with the most basic of information or responsibilities."

* * *

"She didn't _actually_ say that!" Connie said.

"She might've well have," Steven muttered. "I just— can't believe she didn't tell me. _None_ of you told me!"

In the darkness, there were sharp flashes of blue light. Connie flinched back in surprise.

"Yikes dude!" said Amethyst.

"Sorry, sorry," Steven quickly muttered. The flashes faded.

There was a ruffling noise, and Connie felt the metal frame of her glasses pressed into her hand. She put them back on. By the moonlight, she was just about able to make out Steven's miserable expression. Nari flew around his head, landed on his shoulder, and proceeded to preen his hair. Steven didn't even seem to notice.

Amethyst shrugged. "None of us told ya because we thought you knew."

"Yeah." He huffed. "Everyone keeps _assuming_ that. I've got my Mom's gem, I'm supposed to know everything she did, but I _don't_. Pearl keeps— keeps hiding things from me. How am I supposed to help anyone if I don't know what's really going on?"

Silence fell.

 _She's doing it because she loves you,_ Connie almost said. It was the line her Mom used, whenever there was some weird rule Connie had to follow but none of the other kids at school did. Sometimes Connie wasn't sure how true that was.

Besides, it wasn't a problem of being left in the dark. Her parents always explained the logic behind their rules and punishments, at length. There were no secrets in the Maheswaran household. There was nothing _worth_ keeping secret.

"Rose and Garnet and Pearl can be the same way," Amethyst eventually said.

"Yeah, _right_ ," said Steven. "They tell you everything."

"I dunno." Amethyst folded her legs up to her chest, and rested her head on her knees. "They tell me tons 'bout the War. But it's usually only, like, good stuff. Sometimes I wonder…"

She trailed off.

Connie looked around for some sort of snack. That always managed to put Amethyst in a good mood. But all the food was long since gone, and most of the wrappers and garbage too.

"How… is Garnet?" Connie asked. "Is she… alright?"

(She still barely understood what this 'fusion' thing was, but it sounded like splitting into Ruby and Sapphire hadn't been… pleasant.)

Amethyst waved a hand. "Sure. She's fine. Pretty shaken up for a couple of days, but she managed to get back together. The G-Squad always does."

"That's good," Connie said, for a lack of anything else to say. "So… what did you end up doing with Peridot?"

"She's staying at the Palanquin," said Steven.

"Garnet wanted her bubbled," said Amethyst.

Bubbling? Like being sent to the bubble room? That gave Connie an uncomfortable jolt.

"Peridot didn't know what she was doing," defended Steven.

"How could she not know?" Amethyst growled. "That thing was _screaming_!"

That threatened to send them back into bickering. "Hey," Connie said quickly, "isn't the Palanquin where you're keeping the kittens?"

"Just one kitten left now," said Steven. "And she's actually staying at the van. Dad says she's good company."

Connie swallowed a sigh of relief. Even better. She wasn't sure if she wanted to risk meeting this mysterious new Peridot, but a kitten? "Can I see her?"

"Oh, yeah, that'd be cool," Amethyst said, perking up.

Steven shrugged. "Don't see why not."

So it was decided.

They packed up their stuff, and Connie was pleased that she'd managed to cheer her friends up, at least a little. But as they followed the dark path to the warp pad, lit only by the light from Amethyst's gem, Connie realised she had a lot to think about herself.


	41. Sticking-Together

_Breathe in._

 _Breathe out._

 _Breathe in._

 _Breathe ou—_

"Garnet?"

Garnet leapt a solid five feet in the air.

"Oh stars," said Rose. "I'm sorry, Garnet, I didn't mean to startle you."

 _You shouldn't have been able to._

"It's alright," Garnet said.

Rose tilted her head, eyes filled with concern and compassion. "How are you doing?"

 _Terrible._

"Fine," Garnet said.

Rose's eyebrows went up. "Do you want to talk about it?"

 _No_. All they'd been doing for nearly two days straight was talk about it.

But Garnet sighed, pushing those stubborn voices aside, and sat down on the beach. With a spread of her skirts, Rose joined her.

"Pearl and I have finished searching the Kindergarten," Rose said. "We're almost certain there aren't any more of those… fusions left."

Garnet nodded. Peridot had said as much herself, but none of them had been feeling particularly inclined to trust her.

 _We should have been searching too_ , thought Ruby.

 _We couldn't have. We needed to take some time for ourselves_ , thought Sapphire.

 _But we should have had to. We owed them that. It was our fault they were_ —

Garnet breathed in.

"There's nothing more we can do for them," Garnet said, though there was the ghost of a question in her words.

"No," said Rose. "Besides bubbling them, I don't think there is."

 _Of course there isn't. Of course not. Healing tears wouldn't give them the choice they had been denied—_

— _and breaking them apart wouldn't be any better._

 _They're just stuck that way._

Warm hands enveloped Garnet's, gently pulling her forward and out of her thoughts. "Garnet," Rose said, very gently, "are you sure you want to be fused right now?"

Twin flares of heat and cold surged through her, but before the anger could get out-of-control, Garnet noticed her hands were glowing, her body was shaking. She wrestled to calm down, and managed to solidify.

"Yes," Garnet said.

Rose still hadn't let go of her hands. "It's alright, you know. You don't need to force yourself if you're not feeling comfortable."

"No— I mean, yes— I mean—" Yet another breath. "I want to be fused right now, even if it's hard. I need to be. I don't want… I don't want Homeworld to take this away from me."

Rose smiled, and slowly, released Garnet's hands.

"That's my favourite thing about you," she said.

Garnet grinned. "Being a fusion is my favourite thing about me, too."

"Not that," Rose laughed. "I meant, how proud you are. How you always stand up for yourself and your ideals."

"That's what I admire about you, too," said Garnet.

"Mmmm," Rose hummed, her smile fading.

 _What's wrong?_ Garnet nearly asked aloud.

They'd known each other for so long that she didn't need to. Rose Quartz closed her eyes and said, "It's just, I've been thinking… My ideals didn't protect those Crystal Gems."

It was Garnet's turn to reach out to her, placing a hand on Rose's shoulder. "It's not your fault. It was their decision to fight. They knew the risks, and they took them."

Rose glanced down at the sand, that old guilt haunting her. "I just… wish I'd found them sooner."

"You couldn't have known," Garnet said.

"I could have searched more," said Rose. "I could have looked in different bases— there must have been written records, somewhere— there had to have been some sign—"

Garnet closed her eyes against the burn of tears, because that was the same thing she and Ruby and Sapphire had been telling themselves again and again and _again_.

She pulled Rose Quartz in and buried her head in her shoulder, feeling the soft curls flowing around her head. "We've found them now," she murmured. "They're at peace. As much peace as they can ever find."

A shudder ran through Rose's body, and she pulled Garnet in too, holding her close. Tighter and tighter the embrace came, until the space between them vanished entirely.

* * *

The day after the picnic, Steven warped to the Temple. He didn't know if there was going to be any classes that day. There hadn't been any since Peridot's arrival, or even any sign of Garnet at all. It still seemed important to check.

Besides, he didn't really feel like spending much time around the Palanquin, or rather, around Pearl.

He didn't find Garnet at the Temple. But he did find some giant... _shape_ , out on the beach.

It was red, and blocky, and so large that his mind struggled to identify what it was, exactly. He began to skid down the sandy hill for a closer look, and was only just recognising its vaguely humanoid shape when it sat up, spun its head around 180 degrees, and looked right at him with four bright red eyes.

"Hello, Steven," the fusion said, in a soft, booming voice.

Steven dug his heels into the sand and fought the urge to back-peddle. "H-hello."

Which Gems was she? Not Pearl-ssi— there was no oval on her forehead. It was hard to judge beyond that. But there were still familiar traits Steven could pick out. Her skin was a warm pinkish-red, like the setting sun. Her hair was a maroon so deep it bordered on black, all tight, thick curls that formed a cloud around the fusion's head. One set of her eyes were framed by glasses. Not cool, impassive shades, but old-fashioned tortoise-shell rose-tinted glasses that looked like they belonged to a librarian.

"Rose Quartz?" Steven asked. "Garnet?"

The fusion let out a musical laugh. "Strawberry Quartz. A pleasure to meet you."

Then there was a hand held out to Steven, attached to a previously unnoticed second set of arms jutting out from the back of the shoulder blades. Suppressing a shudder, Steven reached out a hand to shake one of the fingers.

This apparently wasn't what Strawberry Quartz had been intending, because instead, she just picked Steven up and brought him close. Steven screamed. The fusion didn't seem to notice.

As terrifying as that was, the fusion didn't hurt him. It was like being briefly enveloped in a huge hug. Then the hand was spread out, creating a platform for Steven to stand on, held right before her face.

"It's… nice to meet you too?" Steven ventured. Her four eyes stared owlishly, and Steven wondered how it felt to re-meet someone. "I didn't know Strawberry Quartzes were… well, a thing?"

"They weren't, until me!" Strawberry Quartz leaned in close, and said in what would have been a conspiratorial whisper, "I chose it _myself_. It seemed to fit."

It did, actually. It wasn't just the color, or the freckles across the fusion's face that resembled white strawberry seeds. It was the plump shape of her body, and the big fluffy sweater she wore. She even _smelled_ vaguely fruity. It was weird.

Finding himself with all sorts of perverse interest in the mechanics of fusion, Steven made himself ask a more relevant question. "So, uh, Strawberry Quartz-ssi. Why are you... here?"

"On this planet? In this universe?" Her eyes twinkled.

"I meant like, here, now. Is everything okay? Is there some sort of threat?"

Strawberry Quartz's amusement faded. "Some sort of threat? No. Is everything okay? Also no."

Steven's eyebrows creased. "So… why are you fused?"

The hand platform drooped as Strawberry Quartz sighed. "I was lonely."

"...what?"

"That's not an entirely accurate explanation." With a free hand, Strawberry Quartz adjusted her glasses. "I— or more specifically, my components— were worried, uncertain, and hurt. They sought comfort, and _I_ am the result."

This was not how fusion was supposed to work. While Steven was willing to accept that he _may_ have been taught some incorrect things about fusion, the basic concept was still the same: it was a tool. Gems of the same type would fuse as an aid in battle. Ruby had fused with Sapphire to protect her. Amethyst and Garnet had fused into Sugilite to move the Palanquin. It couldn't just make you _feel_ better.

But Steven could guess the reaction if he voiced this confusion. Instead he said, "Guess you were all… pretty upset by the Kindergarten stuff, huh?"

Strawberry Quartz didn't answer. Her lip was a thin line.

Steven bowed his head. That had been a pretty stupid question.

"You were upset too," said Strawberry Quartz.

"Of course I was!" Steven cried, indignant. "Peridot was hurting those things!"

"Those fusions."

"Y-yeah. Those fusions."

There was judgement in Strawberry Quartz's eyes— but also, Steven thought, some measure of approval.

She said, "You protected them. Thank you."

"No problem," Steven mumbled.

He caught her nod out of the corner of his eyes. But then Strawberry Quartz continued, "However… we should talk about _how_ you protected them"

Steven waited for her to talk, wishing that he was on the ground.

"You ordered Peridot to stop," Strawberry Quartz said.

"Yeah," said Steven. "It was the fastest way to convince her, and it would be easier than having to track her down if she ran away, and nicer than _beating her up_."

The set of eyes behind the glasses closed. The other set continued to stare, piercing, at Steven.

She said, "I appreciate that. You acted on impulse, and that impulse may have saved us trouble down the road. But ordering Peridot around like that will bring trouble of its own. If the only thing stopping her from doing cruel things are the orders of a superior, then what will she do the next time she's given a poor order? Or when she has no instructions to follow at all?"

Steven's stomach roiled uncomfortably. But along with guilt, there was frustration and indignation. Why was he being lectured here?! He'd been _helping_!

"Are you really saying," Steven demanded, "that it's _always_ wrong to order someone around?"

Strawberry Quartz hesitated. "...Most of the time. In some rare situations, it may be necessary."

"Well, then, how am I supposed to know when it's one of those 'rare situations'?"

"There's… no easy answer to that, I'm afraid." Suddenly, Strawberry Quartz's light voice sounded very tired. "But it's something you should always consider carefully. To take someone's choice away from them is a heavy thing."

The image of Pearl, frozen still, paralysed with uncertainty, rose in Steven's mind.

"... Okay. You're right," he said. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to."

Steven considered how Peridot— a Gem who could barely go a sentence without tripping over herself to praise him— would react to him apologizing. His eyebrows raised briefly at the image, but he nodded.

And just like that, the seriousness that surrounded her evaporated. "Well, now that that's settled," she said, "let's go do something fun!"

"Like...?"

Strawberry Quartz paused, one set of eyes closing. Then they flashed open. "Swimming!"

That was a genuinely good idea. It was summer. He lived in _Beach_ City. Why not enjoy it?

It took him a few minutes to warp back to the Palanquin and grab his swim gear. Pearl, upon learning that he wasn't having a lesson after all, decided to accompany him. To his surprise, so did Lapis. She even shapeshifted on a bathing suit of her own.

By the time he'd returned to the Temple, the beach was full. Amethyst and Biggs were rolling around in the massive waves Strawberry Quartz could make simply by splashing her massive hands. Pearl-ssi was standing in the shallows, smiling, _laughing_ even, as the waves hit her in the chest. Steven didn't even know she could look so happy.

It was a little awkward at first but… It was a sunny day, the temperature was perfect, and it seemed that for once, everyone was just too tired to be tense around each other.

Well, Lapis was as wary of the Crystal Gems as ever, but that mostly seemed to be expressing itself in a competition to create more impressive water tricks than Strawberry Quartz.

Soon Steven was swept up in the fun. He hardly even registered when, after a few hours, he popped up from the surface to find Strawberry gone. In her place were Garnet and Rose, throwing Amethyst back-and-forth as a literal ball. He just raced over to join in.

* * *

Even from the lot of It's A Wash during midday, Greg could always tell if someone was warping in to or from the Crystal Gem Temple. It was kinda hard to miss that sizeable pillar of light shooting to the sky. Before, he had taken careful notice of it to keep track of when the Crystal Gems came and went. These days, he mostly would only pay attention if Steven's lessons were ongoing.

That was why he was so surprised when, as he looked up from the hubcaps he was hubbing, he saw his son sprinting to the beach with Pearl in tow. They seemed to be in for some beach summer fun, and Greg wished he could join them, but he had a lot of work to do.

The last time Greg had closed the car wash for an extended break, it had been for Steven's week long captivity. This time, he'd only closed shop for an extra two days. Moving the Palanquin from Korea to Beach City Adjacent had been a little abrupt, so it took all hands on deck to settle things down. It would have taken even much longer if it weren't for the Crystal Gems' help.

 _Wow, things sure have changed,_ mused Greg as he hosed down another car. Who would have thought the 'murderous rebels' not only had a point, but would make for such good teachers and babysitters?

He couldn't believe how crazy his life sounded sometimes.

But at the end of the day, it felt real good to do something as normal as washing cars. It helped clear his mind. Also, he felt kinda bad for all the dirt and grime that had accumulated on all the cars of Beach City while he was gone. Even if there weren't that many cars in the first place.

He finished up on the hubcaps of the yellow convertible he was currently washing, and straightened up to stretch his back and legs. Old age hadn't been kind to his joints. He was just about to grab the hose when he heard a _'_ _fwoomp!_ ' and a _'_ _thud!'_ behind him. He turned around, only to jump back in surprise.

Lapis Lazuli was only a few inches from his face, staring at him so intensely, it was practically a glare. The fact that she was dressed for some beach summer fun didn't help at all.

"C-Can I help you?" Greg hesitantly asked.

She only narrowed her eyes and continued to stare at him, not blinking even once. He chuckled nervously and looked away, sweating under her gaze and wondering if he'd done anything to offend her. He desperately hoped that he hadn't.

She may not have been with them for very long, but he liked Lapis. Maybe not as much as Steven and Pearl did, but well enough. She was... something like a distant cousin-in-law to him. Heck, he probably liked her more than most of his actual blood relatives. Then again, Gems didn't have an innate understanding of that kind of thing, and he had never been really sure about where he stood in her eyes.

He glanced at Lapis again, only to wilt even more under her continued scrutiny. After a few more seconds, she finally blinked and turned her gaze towards the ocean at a distance.

"Pearl is unhappy," she curtly said, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're making her feel useless."

"I'm sorry?" Greg blurted out, confused. Then Lapis's words sank in. "Wait, what do you mean I'm making Pearl feel useless?"

"Just exactly that." Lapis looked at him again, eyebrow raised. "You do know that she actually feels better now that there's a monster living nearby, right? It gives her something to do. You don't let her do anything anymore, and that's making her feel terrible." She shrugged and glanced towards the ocean again, where Pearl and Steven were. "You have to fix this."

"But I—" Greg started, but Lapis cut him off by summoning her water wings.

"Anyway, I just came here to tell you that," she said with another shrug. "Bye."

"Lapis, wait!"

The sudden rush of air forced Greg to close and shield his eyes. When he opened them again, Lapis was gone, just like that. It strongly reminded him of a popular broody superhero he used to read about in comic books. "Guess I'll just have to figure things out on my own, then."

" _WHOOOOAAAA!_ " someone cried out from a distance. Looking around, Greg saw the older Fryman boy gawking at him from across the street. The boy scrambled towards the car wash, all while glancing between the flying blue speck in the sky and Greg. "Was that one of those magical ladies living on the beach?"

"No," said Greg, grabbing the hose again to pick up where he left off. "She lives with me and Steven. Sort of."

"I have _so many_ questions!" the boy loudly shouted, his eyes bulging out as he grabbed his head and made explosion sounds. He whipped out a tape recorder from one of his pockets and pointed it towards Greg. "My name is Ronaldo, president of the Beach City Explorers. If you don't mind giving us a few comments, Mr. Universe, I'm sure the public would like to know more about these magical ladies."

"Oh lay off, Ronaldo. Can't you see he's busy working?" chimed in the owner of the yellow convertible Greg was working on. Her name was Jenny Pizza, if he recalled. Or maybe that was her sister. Hard to keep twins straight.

Ronaldo seemed aghast at her assertion. "But the truth—!"

"—can wait until _later_. Now get out of the way so Mr. Universe can finish rinsing my car. I need to finish my deliveries before our sesh."

Greg chuckled as he listened to the two teenagers rib each other. They seemed good company, and they shared a couple anecdotes about a roleplaying game they were doing as they waited for him to finish rinsing and drying the car— or the 'Pizzamobile' as they had fondly called it.

Once that was done, Jenny paid for the wash and said, "Mr. Universe, if you'd like to come in for an interview with us, you're welcome to drop by our headquarters in the lighthouse any time."

"Uh, thanks?" Greg scratched the back of his head. "I'll think about it."

Jenny smiled at him, before turning back towards Ronaldo. "C'mon, Ronnie. We're gonna be late for our playdate."

"Don't call our dungeon crawls a _playdate_!"

"If my Bard has to save your Wizard Knight's sorry ass all the time, I can call our games whatever I want." They both got in the Pizzamobile, with Jenny giving Greg one final wave before driving off. "Bye, Mr. Universe! Thanks again for the wash!"

"You're welcome!" Greg waved back, his professional smile feeling quite genuine on his face. He chuckled to himself. "Those kids were funny. They could be good friends for Steven if they get a chance to hang out some."

He was in the middle of putting away the hoses, brushes, and buckets, when his phone started ringing and vibrating in his pocket.

"Everyone seems to be looking for me today..." he grumbled, wiping his hands dry on his jeans and fishing out his cellphone. He glanced at the name on the screen. "This is... unusual." He tapped the 'answer call' button and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hello. This is Doctor Maheswaran. Is this Greg Universe's phone?"

"Yes, it is. This is Greg Universe speaking."

"Oh, thank goodness. I was worried I'd called the wrong one again. Anyway, I was wondering if we could have a little chat..."


	42. Log Date 3 14 2

**Authors' Note:** Hey guys! Only a little bit of housekeeping this time, namely; we've gotten a lot of questions along the lines of 'wait, didn't Rose Quartz poof? Shouldn't everyone have seen she's a diamond?'

And yes, savvy readers, you're correct! However, she poofed in a dark cave filled with water. The person who picked up her gem was Pearl, who kept it tightly clenched in her fist until they got to the Fountain, where Rose began to reform under the opaque pink water.

So yes, don't worry. It's fine, no one noticed :)

* * *

 **Log Date 3 14 2**

Blue Diamond has requested that I use the title 'Steven' and also a different set of 'pronouns'. This means instead of using the perfectly serviceable she/her that every Gem uses, I will instead address 'Steven' as 'he' or 'him'. Perhaps it is a new way to mark Diamonds as greater than us lesser cuts.

Continued observation of my new station continues. Steven has taken me away from the main base of the defectors and up onto a nearby cliffside, with both the human settlement how very primitive as well as the runaways' base, or "Temple" as they refer to it, down below.

Still, the view here is appropriate for a Diamond, even if Steven continues to refuse his proper designation. It is more than a little odd, not to mention why he would shrink his form and coat himself in this… fleshy, yielding form. It is very peculiar, and I suspect his form may be limiting in other ways, such as his powers. Though even weakened, a Diamond's powers would be unmatchable.

And even aside from that, Steven is rather… interesting. He acts unlike any Diamond, or even any Agate or Tourmaline that I have seen. Besides our initial meeting, I have not noted him raising his voice even once, and whenever he gives orders, he always frames it as a question.

I wonder what would happen if you refuse… Perhaps that is when his voice would be raised, ha!

As everything I have seen since coming to this planet, it is rather unorthodox.

No doubt, whatever his plan is, it is merely beyond the grasp of a Peridot such as I.

Regardless, this cliffside is where Steven has setup his operations. His Palanquin is here and filled with very odd items that will require further study, when time is presented as is another, rather terrible looking structure. I was unable to inquire further, as the Pearl walked away without even a dismissal!

Note to self: Inform Steven that his Pearl is not behaving properly

The nomenclature of this designation remains unclear. What is a 'greg', and what is the purpose of a 'barn'? Preliminary investigation suggests it is a storage unit for otherwise useless junk. Perhaps these scraps are 'gregs'.

I am not sure what a 'Greg' is, or what a barn is used for. Although preliminary viewing would suggest it is used to store a wide variety of scrap and other junk.

When I inquired into the nature of my duties, Steven informed me that I am unneeded right now. I've considered asking to return to the Kindergarten, but I suspect Steven will not allow that. He seemed rather distraught when I explained what exactly I was doing when he and his Gem entourage discovered me.

Neither am I certain of the status of my current mission. All travel off the planet has been banned indefinitely, preventing me from reporting on the fusion experiments' progress, or to access further instruction from my manager. As such, I am unsure what to do with my time right now…

 **Log Date 3 14 2 - Addendum**

After being granted express permission, I commenced an inspection of Steven's Palanquin. My purpose was purely to perform a preventative diagnostic systems check-not to suggest it required any repair, of course! However, my inspection was waylaid by the many items that were accumulated around the Palanquin's interior. A partial list of the items follows:

A table constructed from a hard, organic substance Soft orbs in varying dimensions Soft models of organic lifeforms A significant collection of appearance modifiers Hollow metal cylinders filled with unknown fluids. Rudimentary physical information repositories on loose inserts

Very peculiar. Unfortunately I only managed to look through approximately 12 of the inserts before Steven entered his Palanquin, along with the Lapis Lazuli.

I presented myself accordingly, of course. But the Lapis Lazuli just stood there, behind Steven, letting her arms dangle at her side and her posture limped to the side. Perhaps she had earned some sort of special privilege with Steven. That would be logical considering the amount of water that covers this planet; her powers are most likely well used here.

Steven informed me that her and the Lapis Lazuli were only there to retrieve a pair of "binoculars", a device that can apparently enhance one's vision when used. What was more concerning however was that Steven was going to be flown through the air _by_ the Lapis Lazuli! And she didn't even seem to realize what a privilege such a thing was. She was still just acting completely inappropriately, standing there and glaring at _me_! Me!

No doubt she is merely intimidated by seeing a Gem follow proper protocol.

Steven and the Lapis Lazuli had found what they were looking for, and I confirmed that I would finish my business in the Palanquin before he returned, so that I would not disrupt his busy schedule. However, he just said that would "fine" and that I was allowed to "hang out" in his Palanquin if I desired.

I'm not sure what "hang out" means, but I acknowledged it all the same as they both left. Though I _know_ that Lapis Lazuli gave me one more jealous look before they were gone.

How Steven or anyone could put up with that Lapis Lazuli for an extended period of time, I have no idea.

My inspection of the Palanquin continues. The storage unit containing the appearance modifiers contains a metallic bar; I shall attempt to hang from it in accordance to Steven's orders. An additional addendum will be made if any notable problems are located.

 **Log Date 3 14 2 - Addendum Addendum**

No problems with the Palanquin were found. The inspection went very efficiently, and much faster than I estimated. While such speed is only to be expected in a Peridot of such caliber, I once again find myself without an assigned task.

I waited outside the Palanquin for Steven's return, but his mission with the Lapis Lazuli must have been rather important. And this planet's star is so bright and hot that after a while it became uncomfortable standing out in the open. I considered returning into the Palanquin, as Steven gave me permission to remain stationed there.

However, this seems like an extremely poor decision. Previous experience has shown that infringing upon upon a superior's space will always lead to a harsh reprimanding.

Hmm… Perhaps if I went around the back of the Palan-

 **Log Date 3 14 2 - Addendum Addendum Addendum**

The edge behind the Palanquin was completely unstable! I took one step and fell down the cliffside!

Luckily my gem is undamaged, as is my equipment, but still! I will need to inform Steven immediately of such a danger so close to his Palanquin.

However… it _is_ unlikely he has returned to the Palanquin. And now that I am on this sandy base of the cliffside, I can see the runaway's base, in the distance, albeit with a large body of water in between it and myself. Still though, perhaps an investigation of that base would be in order.

It would be a failing to any Diamond if I didn't consider every possible possibility. Admittedly, it seems that Steven has been working with the runaways to regain their loyalty. Though I can only speculate as to why he would wish to regain the service of known defectors, as opposed to simply shattering and/or Harvesting them. _I_ still do not trust them.

So, yes. They need to be investigated further. If anything suspicious is found, an addendum will be added to this log.

 **Log Date 3 14 2 - Addendum Addendum Addendum Addendum**

The runaways are not to be trusted!

 **Log Date 3 14 2 - Addendum Addendum Addendum Addendum Addendum**

Now that I have managed to gotten a moment, I reiterate my previous assertion. The runaways are not to be trusted.

I had approached their base from the south and was stopped by a metal, interlocking barrier. I hadn't even considered using my flight capabilities to get over it, when all of a sudden a _giant monster_ creature lunged through the barrier, attempting to attack me!

I retreated quickly using my flight-propellers. Unfortunately, the creature was not so easily dissuaded and continued to circle me. It was eventually called off by one of the runaways themselves.

Said runaway was the Rose Quartz, a type of Quartz that I am still frustratingly unfamiliar with. But despite my initial suspicions, I do believe her claim. She is large and well-formed. I would have liked to perform a closer inspection of her gem, but had to maintain a safe distance from the monster.

The Rose Quartz still maintained a favorable disposition despite that. She requested to speak with me, but I declined with the claim that I had other duties. She may possess higher than average intelligence for a Quartz, as she may not have believed me.

She was unable to express doubt for my claim, as shortly thereafter Steven arrived, though sans the Lapis Lazuli, via the runaways' warp-pad. I informed him of the attack by the defects' creature.

Steven told me to come down again, framed as a question, and once I was on the ground again he informed me that the creature was in fact a Biggs Jasper.

Curious giving… a malfunctioning Gem like this 'Biggs' a proper designation, but either way. Now the creature has a proper title and I will make notes of it in the future. Such a thing should not be allowed to roam free and I will ensure that Steven flexes the required power needed to make sure these runaways know their place within his Court.

 **Log Date 3 14 2 - Addendum Addendum Addendum Addendum Addendum Addendum**

I believe this will finally be the last entry for this Log Date. I returned with Steven back to his Palanquin. The Lapis Lazuli was there, as was Steven's Pearl and a human. Steven referred to him as "Dad", while Steven's Pearl referred to him as "Greg". I believe I may have been correct in my theory of "Greg" being a designation of useless scrap.

While such matters undoubtedly require further clarification, I believe this will have to wait. After everything that has happened recently, I find my energy low. I therefore requested Steven if I could have some time to recuperate before I returned to my duties and he agreed.

So now I am behind the Palanquin having made sure to check my footing this time and I find myself with even more questions than I thought I would. I assumed pledging myself to Steven's service, at least for the duration of his mission on Earth, would be the easiest and wisest course of action. As a Peridot, it is my duty to assist my superiors, no matter if they're outside my Diamond's Court or not.

And while perhaps the wisest, this is _far_ from the easiest course of action. There is much to learn with this mission and I… find myself feeling a little overwhelmed. I trust Blue Diamo- Steven, obviously, but…

This is very different from Homeworld. And I am nervous moving forward.

Steven is calling me to join him, his Pearl, the Lapis Lazuli, and the Greg in the Palanquin. I will go and I will continue to serve. Despite what reservations or uncertainties I have, I was built to serve and equipped to serve. I will continue to perform my function until I am no longer capable.

 **-Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG, Signing Off**


	43. Wanting

Things had become quite hectic lately. Between the drill, the move, the new Gem, the new kitten, _and_ that unexpected call from Doctor Maheswaran, things hadn't really been completely calm for a while now. So while Greg had wanted to talk with Pearl as soon as possible since Lapis dropped that bomb on him in the car wash, he hadn't had the chance yet.

That was why he decided to deliberately seek her out this morning.

Finding Pearl wasn't that hard, even though she was coming and going a whole lot lately. Greg found her inside the barn, sorting through the junk and muttering something complicated sounding to herself.

He gently knocked on the open door to catch her attention. "Hey, Pearl. You got a sec?"

Pearl glanced up at him before examining the parts she had carefully gathered in her arms. "No, I do not think there is a 'sec' in here."

Greg almost chuckled, but quickly thought better of it. "I meant a second. Like some of your time? If you don't mind, I'd like to talk with you for a bit."

"Ah. Of course." She put down her pile and headed over to Greg.

"So, uhhh..." Greg started. "How have you been?"

Pearl's tilted her head slightly to the side. "As I always have been."

"Right, right." He awkwardly shifted in place. "I, uh, I'll just cut to the chase, okay? Lapis came to me the other day, telling me something about, um, how you were. That you were, uhh, feeling... useless?"

"She… did." It wasn't a question, exactly. But Greg felt it deserved an answer.

"Yeah. And Steven and I, we didn't mean to make you feel that way. If there's anything we could do to make things better—"

"It is okay, Gregory," Pearl cut in with a slight bow of her head. "You have done nothing wrong."

"No, it's not okay, Pearl. I _really_ messed up. I was too caught up in trying to not make you do anything that I..." He ran a hand through his hair. "It didn't even cross my mind to _ask_ how you were or if there's something _you'd_ want to do. It took hearing from Lapis before I realized how uncomfortable I've been making you feel, and that's..." He heaved out a sigh. "That's not good enough. I'm so sorry, Pearl. You deserve better than this. I'll try to— No, I _have_ to do better."

Pearl carefully clasped her hands in front of herself. "You do not have to push yourself this much for me."

"You shouldn't have to push yourself for us either, and yet here we are." Greg massaged the knot forming between his eyebrows. He was starting to feel frustrated with himself, but letting that frustration show in this context would only give Pearl the wrong idea. He took a deep breath and tried again. "You know, you don't have to be something you're not. Especially if it's just to please everyone else."

Pearl pursed her lips before responding, "I am and always have been a Pearl. I am not trying to be like a Quartz or a human or anything else."

Greg fought the urge to slap himself. So much for not giving Pearl the wrong idea. "Alright, that wasn't... the _best_ way to phrase that." He cast his gaze around, searching for a way to explain his point to Pearl. His eyes fell on the still open barn door. "Pearl, have I ever told you about my family? Not you and Steven, but my… other family."

"No. You have rarely spoken of them."

"Yeah," Greg said, breathing out a heavy sigh. "There's a reason for that. The family I grew up with were... okay, I guess? My parents always made sure I had enough food and clothes and stuff. But the thing was, they never wanted _anything_ to do with my music. Heck, they actively tried to discourage me because they wanted me to be a..." He paused and shook his head. "Doesn't matter what they wanted for me. The point is, it wasn't what _I_ wanted.

"I fought hard for my music— er, not literally with swords and stuff, but the struggle was still very much real— because I wanted to be what _I_ wanted to be, not what _other people_ tell me I should be. And that's perfectly okay. Better than okay really, I think that's something great.

"Point is... It's okay to want things, Pearl. I know first hand how hard it can be to even just let yourself _think_ about wanting something when everyone in your life, including yourself, is saying that you're not allowed. But even then, I can't even begin to imagine how much you're struggling with, and I know I haven't been the best support I could be, but... I honestly want to do better by you. I want to be able to support you in whatever _you_ want to do."

"What I want to do..." Pearl echoed. She stared down at her feet. Her hands were still clasped in front of her, grip tightening so much until they shook. It looked painful. "What _I_ want, is to be able to do things for you and Steven again. Even just little things, like making popcorn the way Steven likes them, or pulling a chair out for you during movie nights. I…" She shifted her stance, before looking back up at Greg. "I want to feel _useful_."

"You don't have to serve us like that anymore. You are _not_ our slave."

"But I still want to do things for you... a-as family." There was a glimmer in Pearl's eyes now, an earnest openness that Greg felt like he hadn't seen that often, if he ever did. "That's what families do, isn't it? Help each other?"

"You really think of us as family?"

"From what I understand of the concept... Yes. I do." She looked away, bowing her head low. "And if you'll have me, I... I want to be a part of that again."

"Oh Pearl. You never stopped being a part of _our_ family."

Greg moved to hug Pearl, only to catch himself in time, his arms awkwardly raised towards her. He met her eyes, silently asking for permission.

With a small nod, Pearl opened her arms to welcome the embrace.

Greg couldn't see her face just then, but he could feel her smiling.

* * *

As inappropriate a response as it was, Pearl had truly been enjoying building the drill. Not that she would have said so out loud, of course. That would have been in incredible bad taste. The Cluster posed an enormous threat to the Earth and everything that the Crystal Gems had fought for. Beyond that, there was the issue of how it had been created, which was all the more fraught after witnessing what had actually been done on the forced fusions.

But as horrible as the situation was, it had been a long time since she'd had a mechanical project like this, and it brought Pearl great joy and satisfaction.

She also had to admit, as wary as she was of the Homeworld Peridot, she was somewhat looking forward to having her join the build team. Blue Pearl was extremely competent and actually quite pleasant to work with, and the others were always eager to give a helping hand in their own way… But Pearl missed the company of other experts.

So after some days had passed, long enough for tempers to cool and the situation explained to Peridot, she was brought to the Beta Kindergarten. Steven had come along too, watching the proceedings with crossed arms. It made him bear an odd resemblance to Garnet, standing next to him in a near identical pose and a much colder expression. The Pearls lead Peridot through what they had done so far, outlining their plan, and then (somewhat reluctantly, on Pearl's part) admitting the very few areas where they had yet to quite grasp modern Homeworld technology.

Peridot listened, waited for them to finish. Then she nodded, clapped her hands and said, "Yes, very good. That will be all."

And for a brief moment, Pearl was not on Earth. She was on Homeworld, standing tiny in a mighty palace for beings five times her size, being ordered and ignored as though she were nothing more than a particularly pretty piece of furniture—

But even as her mind reeled, Pearl's mouth said, of its own accord, " _What did you just say?_ "

"Hm? You can… go now?" A few of Peridot's floating fingers made a dismissive gesture.

Blue Pearl, who had gone very still, clasped her hands to her chest and opened her mouth to speak. Pearl braced herself for the murmured assent, and was surprised when what the other Pearl said was, "With respect, no."

Peridot blinked at her. "No?"

"That's right!'" Pearl puffed up her chest, and took a step closer to Blue Pearl. "No!"

"We do not take orders from you," Blue Pearl said simply.

"Oh." Peridot's fingers flew in sharply, her back going ramrod straight. "I see. Apologies for overstepping my bounds. Continue with your owner's orders, of course."

And just as it had begun to drain away, the fury and horror that had filled Pearl flooded back. Every sense and detail seemed to become extra vibrant, as though she was on a battlefield: the heat of the morning sun overhead, the sharp orange of the rocks, the flicker of blue lightning from Steven's clenched hands, Garnet holding him back—

That was a reassurance. Garnet was expecting Pearl to be able to handle this. And she could. She'd put up with worse during the Rebellion!

"We don't have _orders_ ," snapped Pearl. "We do what we like."

Peridot looked extremely confused, as if someone was insisting two and two made five. "Preposterous. You can't just— do what you like! You need instructions, things to _do_ —"

"We _have_ things to do. We're constructing this drill, and you are going to help _us_ ," said Pearl.

Peridot gave a pointed glance at Steven, still being gently restrained by Garnet. "Perhaps your owner could confirm—"

"Steven is not my owner." Blue Pearl's voice was quieter, less sure than it had been before, but she had still _said_ it. "He's my family."

Faltering, Peridot turned to Pearl. "Then how about yours?"

For a moment, Pearl's traitorous mind supplied the image of Pink Diamond.

 _No. No_ , Pearl told herself fiercely. Pink Diamond was gone. Rose and Pearl had made certain of that, had worked so hard to free her of that control, that ownership. This Peridot had no idea what she was talking about.

"I'm a free Gem," said Pearl, raising her head high.

"Then what are you _for_?"

"Whatever I **like**."

That, truly, seemed to leave Peridot speechless.

At least for a few moments, in which the only sounds in the entire Kindergarten seemed to be Steven Universe's heavy breathing. Then Peridot, eye twitching ever so slightly, said, "Prove it."

Pearl laughed. "Gladly!"

She felt a light hand on her shoulder. Blue Pearl said, "No."

"No?" Pearl and Peridot echoed.

"We have nothing we need to prove to you," said Blue Pearl, in that steady, quiet voice of hers. "We are not quartzes, showing off in a tournament. We have a drill to build— one we have nearly completed, without your help. We can finish it without you too, if you continue to display such obstinance and immaturity."

Peridot stared. Her gaze swung from Pearl, to Pearl, to Steven.

His smile was sharp. "You heard her!"

"FINE!" Peridot yelled, her fingers flying up into the air in exasperation. She stomped off without another word, grabbing some tools in a suspension beam as she went.

When she had disappeared into the drill's control room, Steven ran over, nearly slamming into Blue Pearl as though to embrace— then holding back at the last moment. He faltered and said, "That was- really awesome, Pearl."

"It was nothing," said Blue Pearl, blushing.

Garnet had come over too. She was grinning like an Earth predator.

"You enjoyed that," Pearl accused, putting a hand on her hip.

"Yes," said Garnet, not even bothering to deny it. She smirked. "I might have enjoyed the timelines where you punched her a little bit more, though."

Pearl couldn't help it— she laughed. To her surprise, Blue Pearl laughed too.

Yes, Pearl thought. Punching Peridot in the face would have been satisfying indeed. But the other Pearl was right. They had nothing to prove to her, and there was work to be getting on with.

Pearl smiled at Blue, and she smiled back.

* * *

As much as Steven was still frustrated at Pearl for keeping secrets ( _again_ ), that wasn't enough to completely dampen his enthusiasm to actually see the drill being constructed, now that he knew it existed. He'd seen Pearl's precision many times, from her cooking meals to building furniture, but it was something else to see her with a welding iron…

And Pearl-sii was even more impressive. Whatever else could be said about the Crystal Gem, she was scarily competent.

Peridot, too, was really good at this, and looked especially wicked with her high tech fingers and holograms. But Steven was having a lot of trouble focusing on that.

He'd spent a lot of time when he was little, imagining the first time he met a Homeworld Gem. How they would salute to him, and address him as "My Diamond", and listen intently to his every idea and go to make them happen.

And Peridot was _like_ that. While that could feel cool— really cool, actually— it was also kind of weird and uncomfortable. No matter how nice she was to him, Steven couldn't entirely shake the image of what she'd been doing to those fusions. The total lack of expression on her face the whole time.

… and the way she'd ordered Pearl around. The last nail in the coffin. The final proof that all that slavery stuff really was true.

Tucked in the shade of a person-shaped hole, Steven observed Peridot as she worked on three different mechanical parts at once. He took a deep breath, pushed off the wall, and strode towards it. "Peridot, we need to talk."

She focused instantly. "Of course! What can I assist you with, Steven?"

"Never talk to Pearl like that again," he told her.

She bobbed her head. "Of course, of course, I stepped out of line, she's not my Pearl to command—"

"She's not— she's not anyone's to command!" Steven snapped. "And not just her. Pearl-sii— Crystal Gem Pe— all the Pearls, okay? I never want to hear about you ordering them around again, okay?"

"Understood." Peridot saluted.

His heart was still thumping heavily in his chest, but Steven took a deep breath, and relaxed. Cool. Cool, that was handled. "Good," he said. Peridot was looking really worried, so he tried smiling at her. "Do you… think you could tell me what you're doing?"

"Of course!" Peridot said, and immediately launched into a long, complicated explanation involving about fifteen types of graphs. About 70% of it was beyond Steven, but that was fine. He would do his best to learn.

* * *

That evening, Pearl returned to the barn. While many of the items there were technologically archaic even by Earth standards, they still contained metals and materials that could be useful for the Drill. Lapis had been helping her move the larger items outside, but the actual sorting and organization was all up to herself.

She was elbow deep in what she supposed was an aircraft engine when she heard someone ask, "Hey, Pearl. Got a sec?"

Pearl looked up from the engine, only to see Greg standing by the barn's entrance again. She blinked at him. "No, I still do not have a 'sec' among these things."

"I meant some of your time."

"I know," she said, withdrawing her arms from the engine. "It was a joke this time."

"Oh." Greg blinked. "O-Oh! That _is_ funny."

A ghost of a smile danced on Pearl's face. It vanished into her usual neutrality as she straightened and wiped the grease off her hands. "How may I be of assistance?"

"No assistance. I just wanted to talk, if you're not too busy?"

"Not at all. Please continue." She waved him in, a little human habit she'd picked up in her time on Earth.

Greg stepped inside, carefully closing the door behind him. He leaned against the wall beside it. "I've been thinking a lot since that talk we had this morning. About us being family. And, well... I figured that everyone in the family deserves to have their own personal space, y'know?"

Pearl's eyebrows knitted together. "I am not sure I follow."

"I have my van, Steven has his palanquin, and... You deserve to have your own space, too." He casually glanced around the barn, then cocked his head. "For now, how about this barn? If you want it, that is."

Pearl said nothing. Didn't even move.

Greg jumped to a straighter posture as if burned, nervously gesturing as he continued, "I-I mean, I know it's not a fancy apartment or anything— although I'm sure we could arrange for one of those, if you want. I just thought— That is to say I— If you want to have a place of your own, whether just temporary or something more permanent or— I just want you to be comfortable, you know? Whatever _you're_ comfortable with."

Pearl stared. Greg's words were rushed and jumbled, as if desperate to fill the space between them. She wasn't sure if she understood what he was saying correctly, but if she had, then...

"You are offering this place... to be _mine_?"

"Yeah." Greg nodded. "Yes. It's all yours, Pearl."

Pearl blinked.

For her own?

In the apartment back in Korea, Greg had offered her a room as well. She hadn't understood what it meant at the time, had thought that it was a place they would store her in when they had no use of her. She had never made use of that room, not even to store the few meager belongings she'd possessed— she had her gem for that. Greg hadn't pressed, just assumed it was a Gem thing, and over time, almost absently started throwing old knick-knacks in there.

Things were different now, though. Greg probably understood her better now. And she understood humans— understood _Greg_ — better. He was giving her her own space because he wanted her to have it.

She slowly surveyed the building she was organizing, as though she was seeing it again for the first time. Now that larger pieces had been moved outside, it was clear just how much floor space the barn had. A cursory tap of her foot against one of the pillars told her the wood was still good and solid. Glancing up, she wondered if the rafters retained a similar integrity.

"So... What do you think?" Greg asked her.

 _This is too much, I do not deserve this, I am merely a pearl_ — but she stamped those thoughts down. She was a Pearl, yes, but there was nothing 'merely' about that. If the events earlier at the Drill helped her realize anything, it was that no one should look down on her for being who or what she was, not even herself.

 _It's okay to want things, Pearl._ Greg's words from before echoed in her mind

Nodding to herself, she turned around and smiled. "Thank you, Greg. It is perfect."

"Great! I'm glad you think so." Greg smiled back, before shyly rubbing the back of his head. "Guess I'll leave you to it, then. If you need any help with sprucing up the place or, well, anything really, don't hesitate to ask. Okay?"

Pearl nodded once more, watching Greg leave and shut the door behind him.

She glanced around again, this time surveying the place closely for what it _could_ be. It was still half-full with human paraphernalia and mechanical implements at the moment, but once she had cleared those out...

What then?

It wasn't big and well-adorned like the spires and meeting halls she'd been to, by Blue Diamond's side. But it wasn't small and plain like the storage rooms she'd been sometimes kept in, among other Pearls, either.

There was nothing remarkable about the barn. In fact, it had nothing going for it at all.

But it was hers now, for her to do what she willed. Not that she had decided on what to do with it, exactly. Despite all the clutter, it felt too empty somehow, and the cramped space felt too big.

Far too big.

Suddenly, she felt very alone inside her barn.

"Pearl?" Steven's voice sounded muffled coming from the other side of the the door— _her_ door. He knocked twice before continuing, "Pearl, I got your suit. The one we got in Empire City a while ago?"

"Thank you, dear." Pearl opened the door wide for him. "Would you like to come in?"

Steven shook his head. "Maybe next time. I should be heading to sleep soon." He gave her a strained smile as he held the suit towards her.

"I look forward to your visit, then." She gingerly took the garment in her hands and carefully draped it over one arm. "Good night, Steven."

"Good night, Pearl."

She watched as Steven returned to the Palanquin, curtains billowing as he drew them shut.

Pearl closed her door and leaned heavily against it. She stared at the orange tuxedo suit on her arm, neatly pressed and loosely set on a hanger. It felt a lifetime ago when they had bought it, even though it had only been a few months. Barely anything, in objective Homeworld time. She searched around the barn to see if there was anything she could hang it from, preferably somewhere far from any grease.

At the far side of the door, a nail poked out of the wall. She decided that was the perfect place.

Pearl hung the suit to the wall— _her_ wall. It was such a small and simple thing to do, something she had done countless times before with Steven's and Greg's clothing. But this time felt important, somehow. Like the barn was no longer empty.

Perhaps it would be nice to fill this space with more things that were hers, she thought.

* * *

 **Log Date 3 16 2**

I overstepped my bounds today. Despite by newfound proximity to a Diamond, my rank has not changed. I must remember that.


	44. Hologram

Steven stood just out of reach of the waves that lapped onto the beach. He had ran ahead, but now turned towards the two that had brought him here, Pearl and Lapis who were still hurriedly walking to catch up.

"Is… this the right place?" he asked, glancing around uncertainly. The stretch of Korean beach was deserted, and there didn't seem to be anything of note around. He looked up to the sky, as if whatever they were looking for would fly overhead. Instead, all he saw were grey, dreary clouds.

Pearl and Lapis joined him at the edge of the water. "It is," Pearl said. "Or, it is as close as we can get." Steven wanted to ask what she meant by that, but Pearl continued talking before he could. "Steven. There is… something you should know."

Steven felt his gut turn and squeeze. His first reaction was to snap back, "Like the drill?", even as he _knew_ he shouldn't say that. Even though it was weeks after he had learned about the drill, he still felt hurt when he thought about it.

It was stupid to still feel upset by something that had happened weeks ago, but…

At least Dad hadn't known about the drill either. So Steven wasn't the only one who had been left in the dark.

Steven shook the stray thoughts from his mind. "Okay. What's going on? What are we looking for?"

Pearl paused a moment, before simply answering, "Your mother's ship."

A jolt flashed through Steven's mind. "My… mom's ship? The one that brought you and her to Earth?"

"The very same."

Steven began to feel his heart beat loudly in his chest. "Where is it? Is it-" He looked up in the air again, as if expecting to see the ship hovering above them.

"It's there," Lapis spoke. Steven looked over at her and saw that she was pointing towards the ocean. "About ten miles out."

Steven blinked confusedly. "It's… out at sea?"

"Under the sea," Lapis corrected. "If you didn't know where it was, it's unlikely you'd ever find it."

"Yes," Pearl said. "Whenever your mother would come to Earth, she would always keep her ship in the same location. Hidden beneath the waves."

"But… then how-" Steven quickly gathered himself. "How did she do that? I mean, she was a Gem so she didn't need to breathe but… Swimming ten miles to shore seems like it would be a hassle."

"She did not need to," Pearl answered. "My Diamond's power was such that she could control her ship with a wave of her hand, causing it to fall and rise out of the ocean with merely a gesture."

Steven felt his heart sink, and not just because he began to doubt he had that kind of control over his powers. But the way she'd referred to his mother

' _My_ Diamond'. Like 'my Steven'.

They both had to mean the same thing, or had the same meaning behind them. Subservient, submissive, servile…

Ha. It was the worst version of his vocabulary game ever.

Steven wanted to say not call his mother that, but… he knew what weight such an order would carry, so he bit it back, doing his best to ignore it.

"Are you okay, dear?"

He blinked, actually feeling his heart ease a little at Pearl calling him by 'dear' rather than… something else.

"Yeah, just thinking," Steven answered.

Pearl tilted her head to the side. "About summoning the ship?"

"Yeah. Exactly."

She nodded. "Yes. Unfortunately… despite how much your control over your powers has increased, in these last few months… I admit, it is doubtful that you would be able to summon the ship in a similar manner, at least for now."

"Like how you still can't unlock the Palanquin," Lapis added.

Pearl shot her a quick look, before returning to Steven. "Similarly, yes."

Steven crinkled his brow. "Well, then," he scratched his cheek, "why did we come out here? If I can't summon it yet, why bother coming out all this way?"

"Simple. I'm going to get us there," Lapis said, her watery wings emerging from her gem in demonstration. "I can fly us to where the ship is."

"Okay. But… I don't know if I can hold my breath long enough to swim _to_ the ship," Steven replied. "It has to be pretty deep to be hidden, right?"

"Oh, it is," Lapis said, before smirking at him. "But I _can_ do other things besides fly, remember?" Without even waiting for Steven to reply, Lapis held out her hand, pointing her palm at the incoming tide. And suddenly, a small round section of the tide stopped, not washing out, unflinching as the rest of the waves rushed around it.

After a moment, Lapis lowered her hand and the still water collapsed into its surrounding water. "Lapis's control of water is very well practiced," Pearl said. "She can create a bubble of air for us, as it were, while we submerge under the water."

"Oh! Right," Steven said, realization dawning over him. "Just like how you kept the water off me and Connie the afternoon I met her under the dock. And when we swam with the dolphins."

"Same idea, yeah," Lapis said. "So, when you're ready, Steven." She turned around, getting onto her knees. "You can ride on my back, like you have before."

However, Steven hesitated. He looked over at Pearl. "Will we even be able to get in? If I can't summon it, will I be able to open the door?"

Pearl paused to think for a moment. "The ship is designed to respond to Blue Diamond in a myriad of ways, many of which require no use of her powers at all." Another pause. "And if that doesn't work, I can open the ship."

"Really?"

Pearl nodded. "After my Diamond was gone, I was charged to look after her ship, as it was meant to be your ship." Yet another pause. Pearl wasn't wearing her hairclip today— she hadn't worn it for weeks now— but despite her covered eyes, Steven could still tell that she was considering him closely. Pearl continued, "Stored on the ship were tools, as well as information about the Cluster, such as its coordinates and exact specifications."

Steven felt his throat tighten. "So you've been in the ship a lot? Since I was born?"

"Yes. Though, not so much recently."

Steven swallowed hard, trying to hold back the ebb of hurt and guilt that was beginning to pound in his chest.

Hurt, because he still remembered it from the Kindergarten. That feeling as he realized that he was the _only one_ that didn't know about the Cluster, that Pearl had told the Crystal Gems before him and that she likely would _never_ have told him if she'd had her way.

But also guilt, because he knew it was petty and childish to still be feeling like this. Pearl had explained herself and it was difficult to argue with her reasoning of wanting to maintain the calm. Even now, Steven couldn't help but feel weird, knowing that somewhere below his feet was a force that was intended to destroy the planet.

He clamped his eyes shut and gave himself an internal shake. These were things to consider later, but for now…

"Alright," Steven said, putting on his best relaxed expression. "You can fly us there, Lapis?"

"Yeah, like I said," Lapis answered. "Just climb on."

Steven did so, letting Lapis help him up as he wrapped his arms over her shoulders. She then rose to her feet and turned to Pearl.

"Wait, there's no room for Pearl," Steven said.

"No problem," Lapis said. She walked over to Pearl and smiled. "Ready?" Pearl nodded and Lapis bent over and picked Pearl off her feet, carrying her in her arms. "Get a good grip," Lapis instructed.

Steven readjusted and tightened his hold and Pearl hugged her arms around Lapis's chest.

Even after confirming that everyone was ready, Steven was still surprised at the speed Lapis kicked off into the air, her wings flapping to propel them higher. And then, with a burst of speed, they were soaring over the ocean, the shore rapidly growing smaller behind them.

The three of them flew for what seemed like no time at all before Pearl said something. He couldn't hear her, the wind from their speed whipped too loudly in his ears for Steven to really make it out. But he saw her point to something below, and they came to a stop, easily and all at once, hovered over the water.

"What-" Steven began, but he cut himself off as he saw what Pearl had pointed to.

"The buoy," Lapis said. And Steven saw it, a single red buoy bobbing along with the waves. Its only unusual feature being that it was so far off from shore.

"It marks where the ship is," Pearl said. "The ship is not affected by the ocean's currents, but… keeping track of its location is important."

"Because it had stuff you needed to stop the Cluster."

A pause, before Pearl spoke, "The ship is your inheritance from your mother. I could never lose something meant for you."

Steven felt his stomach groan. "So how are we going to get down there? It has to be pretty deep, right?"

"Pretty deep," Lapis said. "But I move fast, even under water. Are you ready?"

Steven gulped. He was beginning to feel nervous. Not that he didn't trust Lapis or anything, but… "Yeah. I am."

"Pearl?"

"I am ready, Lapis."

"I'm going to need one of my hands free to do this," Lapis said. "So you'll need to hold on tightly, okay?"

Pearl shifted and tightened her hold around Lapis's chest. "I am ready," she said again.

Lapis nodded and took her hand that was bracing against Pearl's back and outstretched it, pointing it towards the ocean below them. Before Steven could ask what was going to happen, they were moving again, though this time they were heading directly towards the water.

As it got closer, Steven braced himself, closing his eyes and holding his breath and… nothing happened. Or at least, nothing that he felt. He opened his eyes and was amazed at what he was seeing.

Lapis had taken him underwater before, but never this deep, and never with a bubble so large. Beyond it was the ocean, deeper and darker than the shallows of Beach City. It was almost impossible to make out any specifics, everything becoming dimmer and dimmer as they sank, down, down, down. But still, Steven could make out shimmering schools of fish, the sinewy form of an eel, and all sorts of other sea life bustling around them, no doubt wondering what this strange new phenomenon was.

In the distance, he could just make out the echoes of what he thought to be whale song, but so muffled that he couldn't understand it, let alone call back.

"There. I can see it."

Pearl's voice drew Steven's attention away from the fish and to the seabed below. A darkish shape was growing rapidly as they approached, taking on a distinctive bluish tint.

"Mom's ship…" Steven breathed.

As they moved in closer, Steven could see the ship's form start to become clearer; an arm, a hand, and five fingers. Just like Pearl and Dad had always described it.

Something else that became very clear as they descended was the sheer _size_ of the ship. He had no exact idea or reference for how large the ship was. Just a few days ago, Steven had been thinking how large Amethyst and Garnet's fusion had been, but now… the ship absolutely _dwarfed_ her.

They finally got close enough to land, not on the sandy bottom of the ocean, but instead on one of the fingers of the ship which, with the ship's palm facing up, lay outstretched and pointing towards the surface. Lapis landed onto the ship's finger, carefully letting Pearl down, before bending down and allowing Steven to slide off her back. He fell down onto the cool, curving surface with a soft ' _clank_ '. The alien metal was completely dry beneath him, all moisture banished by Lapis's power. Steven looked around, trying to find a hatch or door for them to enter, but at least from where they stood, the ship appeared completely sealed.

"How are we going to get in?" he asked.

"There is a hatch at the base of the ship," Pearl said. "It is meant for emergencies, but that is how I had to gain entry to the ship after your mother was gone."

"Why couldn't you enter the… uh, normal way?"

Pearl hesitated, before answering, "A Pearl would never have access to their owner's ship," she said. "Thankfully, my Diamond did see fit to leave me access to the secondary emergency entrance."

Steven squeezed his hands into fists. "Can that be fixed?"

"It can, but-"

"Good. Then we'll work on that when we get in." Steven peered over the edge of the palm. "Where is the hatch we need to get in?"

"Below, near the wrist," Pearl said, "However… we do not need that, I think."

"We don't?" Steven asked.

Pearl shook her head. "While you might not have the control over your power to summon the ship, I do believe that you will be able to warp us in."

"'Warp' us in?"

"Kind of like a warp pad," Lapis said. "Except without the pad."

"Okay," Steven said slowly. He looked down at the ship below his feet. It still looked like blue metal, with no seams or rivets or _anything_ that he could see. So how was he going to 'warp' them in? With his powers, but… the idea of shooting lightning didn't seem appealing, especially so close to others…

"All you must do, dear," Pearl said, "is summon some energy from your gem. The ship will recognize you, and we will be warped in."

Steven had done similar practices with Garnet, during his past vision training. She had told him that summoning energy from his gem, just the amount he needed, no more, was the key to perfecting his powers. Steven had compared it to taking a deep breath and holding it, and while Garnet had been unsure how applicable that comparison was, Steven found that thinking about it that way had helped him with the concept.

"Okay," Steven said again. "I'm going to try it." Pearl nodded silently and stepped over to him, stopping by his side. However, Lapis stood still a few feet away.

"I'm… going to stay outside, if that's alright with you," she said.

"Um, okay. That's fine," Steven said. "Are you sure?"

"It looks like every other ship I've been on in my life," Lapis shrugged. "Besides, there's nothing in there for me anyway." She offered a small smile. "So you two have fun."

"You will be here waiting for us, yes?" Pearl asked.

"I will, yeah."

Pearl gave her a slight bow. "Thank you, Lapis." Lapis half shrugged and gave a wave in response. Pearl looked over to her side, at Steven. "When you are ready, darling."

Steven readied himself, doing his best to keep calm and even, despite the excited beat his heart had taken. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, before he began to gather the energy from his gem. He felt a warm, tingly sensation building in his chest. He blinked and- suddenly Lapis, the ocean and the life within it, was gone. Instead, there was bright light all around, similar to a warp stream, but this didn't seem to be rushing past them.

He blinked again, and just as fast as it had come, it was gone. Now replaced with… nothing. Or at least that's what it seemed like at first. A few more blinks and Steven's eyes began to adjust to the sudden darkness. Not that there was much to see. It was an empty room, its walls and door the same shade of blue as the outside of the ship. The door was _huge_ , however, almost taking up an entire wall and stretching just short an equally high ceiling.

 _Of course it's big. It has to be Diamond-sized…_

Pearl stepped forward and pressed her finger against something on the wall- a control panel, the kind Steven had seen before during their exploration of Gem ruins. The panel lit up and light entered the room from above, though not much. It was still fairly dim.

"It's running on emergency power," Pearl said, answering Steven's unasked question. "I put the ship in hibernation, so as to preserve its energy supply."

"Is the ship running out of power?" Steven asked.

Pearl considered the question for a moment before answering, "Not so much. However, here on Earth, without any place to recharge it, its energy is finite. And if it _did_ run out of energy, then the ship would be trapped under the ocean."

"Okay, so you put it into hibernation to preserve its power. If we ever needed it," Steven said, nodding with understanding.

"Yes," Pearl answered. "But you are here now, and as such the ship needs to be brought back to its full power." She pressed her finger back against the control panel, and with a ' _swoosh_ ' the Diamond-sized door opened, revealing a dimly lit corridor, closed doors lining it as it ended in inky darkness.

Pearl walked out of the room and Steven followed after her, his head turning as he tried to look in every direction at once.

"I will need to reset the generator. And redirect the energy flow," Pearl said. "But that should only take a moment." She turned to him. "If you wish, you may stay here, Steven." She nodded at one of the doors behind him. "The control bay. And once power has been restored, I believe that will be the first place to explore."

Steven looked at the door. It was huge, Diamond-sized like the one they had just stepped through. No doubt that's where Mom… piloted the ship? No, unlikely. But she did probably oversee all of the ship's operations from there.

"And you won't be gone long?" Steven asked slowly. It wasn't that he was _scared_ , exactly. If anything he felt excited. But… this was an alien place. Literally. And… he'd just feel better if Pearl was with him while he looked around.

"I will not," Pearl said. "The process is mostly automated, I merely need to be there to make sure everything proceeds as it should."

"Okay. Then yeah, I'll be fine Pearl."

A beat passed and Pearl nodded back. "I'll just be a moment," she said before turning, walking down the corridor, and eventually vanishing in the darkness.

And Steven did wait… for a time, anyway. After several minutes, Steven's boredom and curiosity began to outweigh any apprehension he had about being alone in the ship. It was his, after all, right? He wanted to look around, to explore, even if it was dark and kind of scary. To that end, instead of following through the large door Pearl had disappeared through, he went to the smaller one next to it.

There was a panel by its side, as all the ship's doors had, but it wasn't lit up. Pressing his fingers against it did nothing. Steven had even tried to pry the door open, but it was smooth and pressed together tightly, leaving no place to grab onto.

 _Ugh. For a super advanced intergalactic species, we should really try door knobs._

Steven had finally stepped away, about to resign himself to waiting, when suddenly light began to flood around him. Almost all at once, the corridor was lit, allowing Steven to see around himself perfectly. Not that there was much to see. Blue corridor, blue doors of varying sizes, all of which were shut. Even though he could see down to the end of the corridor now, he couldn't tell which door Pearl had gone through.

Rubbing his chin, Steven took a step back, hoping that if he could see all the doors he might notice some clue as to where Pearl had gone.

Something 'swooshed'. Turning quickly around, he found that the Diamond-sized door to the control bay had opened.

He peeked through the door and down the corridor beyond, expecting to see Pearl returning. He looked back into the control bay.

 _Pearl did say this would probably be the first place we looked. So when she comes looking for me, this will probably be the first place she looks…_

Taking just another moment, Steven walked into the control bay. The first thing that caught his eye was the throne, blue and Diamond-sized just like in the Palanquin.

 _That's where Mom sat when she oversaw the ship_.

Beyond the throne though, there wasn't too much else to see, really. There were screens on the walls, as well as many consoles all around. And each console had buttons, triggers, switches, dials and screens, all of which did things Steven couldn't begin to guess at, beyond the very broad 'pilots the ship'. He wished there was a Nephrite or someone around to teach him.

Steven circled the room several times, taking it all in before he stopped in front of the throne. Maybe Pearl could offer more insight about this room? She probably knew more about what every-

A flash of blue caught the corner of Steven's eye. He spun, only to flinch at a bright neon blue light shone directly into his eyes.

Shielding them, he heard a voice say, "My Diamond. You have returned."

The voice was flat and mechanical sounding. Was… the ship talking to him? Like some kind of Virtual Intelligence?

"Uh, yeah," Steven said, unsure how he should respond. "I- I have my mom's gem, anyway."

He mentally chastised himself. It was unlikely that anything Gem-related knew what a 'mom' was. However, the VI voice continued, "My Diamond, it is eleven point one four cycles past when you instructed to me to remind you about your message."

"Oh… Um, sorry?"

"Would you like to play the message now, my Diamond?"

Steven's brow creased. "What's it about?"

"I cannot speak to its contents, my Diamond. However, its designation is 'For Steven'."

Steven felt his heart jump what must have been twenty feet in his chest. "Fo-for me?"

"'For Steven'," the VI voice repeated. "Would you like me to play the message, my Diamond?"

Steven blinked and without really considering it, answered, "Yes. Play it."

The voice said nothing else, and for a split second nothing happened… Until suddenly, a figure appeared out of thin air, just in front of him. She was blue, from her skin and to her robe. The only exception was her hair, which was long, rich-looking, and pure white. She was tall, but not towering- maybe just a little larger than Garnet. And much larger in the stomach department. She was pregnant, very pregnant. Her eyes reminded Steven of when he looked in the mirror and even her wispy wavy hair reminded-

And then it hit him, all at once as he took in the full picture of who was before him now.

"M-Mom…"

She flickered and flashed a little, and Steven realized what exactly he was looking at. A hologram, but not like a Gem's body. Just one made of normal light, rather than hardlight.

Steven was staring at a hologram of his mother, looking all as graceful and elegant as she did in the pictures he'd seen of her. He took a step forward, and as if reacting to him, she looked down and spoke.

"Steven," she said, her voice soft and gentle. Almost as if she was really talking to him. A small smile creeped over her lips. "You're… _here_. Right now, watching this, aren't you?"

She rubbed her round belly as she spoke and Steven realized with another jolt that that was _him_. She had been pregnant with _him_ while she was recording this. He nearly reached out to touch, but...

Blue Diamond looked at one of the now blank screens, her smile widening a little more. "This planet- Earth- it's so incredible, Steven. Mm… I see now what Pink saw in it, what she tried to tell us… and that we refused to listen." She sighed, her eyes turning downwards. "She tried to show us how it was a gift…" She looked back up, to the blank screen. "But now, _I_ am going to correct that. The Earth _is_ a gift, and it is mine- and Pink's- gift to you, Steven. A place to grow and learn to be a Diamond- a better Diamond then I could ever be."

Steven gulped and sniffed, suddenly realizing his vision was getting blurry. He wiped his eyes with his arm, and he saw his hoodie sleeve, the same color as the robe his mother had worn.

That she was wearing right now, in front of him.

He sniffed again, hugging himself, and the hoodie, tightly.

"Yes…" Blue Diamond continued, still looking listlessly at the blank screen before returning her gaze forward. "This will be your first colony, Steven. Your first mark on the universe."

A… colony? Steven's mind shot back to the Kindergarten. How everything was so desolate and… dead. And how the Crystal Gems had said that was what would have happened to the whole Earth, had they not prevented it…

Steven felt an uncomfortable pang in his stomach.

"When you are ready, when you have learned everything you need to, you will need to return to Homeworld, Steven. My ship- _your_ ship- will be able to take you. And Pearl will be able to pilot it. She is competent enough.

"There are files within the ship's database that will need to be delivered to Yellow and White. They are final decrees of mine. All of my existing colonies will be divided up into other Courts, as will most of the Gems in my Court. While I wish to give you a fresh beginning, you will still need assistance. A platoon of Quartzes, a lab of Morganites, some Bismuths…" She smiled and shook her head. "Oh, I wish I could be there when they first swear their loyalty to you. It will be such a wonderful occasion."

"S-swear… loyalty?"

"You will expand through this system and into the ones beyond it. You will create Gems of your own, made in your own image, to serve and shape the universe itself. But Earth will be your start, Steven. Your first colony, to preserve and protect, however you wish. And a monument not just to yourself, but also to Pink. That she was right about Earth and everything on it."

Steven gripped the front of his hoodie, and he could feel his gem underneath his fingers resting against his shirt.

"But you will be a better leader, a better _Diamond_ , then either Pink or myself could have ever hoped to be. I know you can be, Steven."

"No… No…"

"I… When you are watching this, I don't know if you're ready yet. Maybe that's what brought you here? You're finally ready to return to Homeworld. But, I suppose that doesn't matter. You're here now and… I can only hope you're happy. With Greg, and with Pearl. I know she is faithfully serving you, as she did me."

"No… No!" Steven finally yelled, the uncomfortable pang having grown into a swirling storm inside of him. "She's not- She's not _serving_ me! And she shouldn't have served you! _You_ shouldn't have treated her like that!"

But the hologram made no response, of course. It couldn't. It was just a recording, smiling serenely. The person Steven was screaming at had long ago passed.

"I love you, Steven. Never forget that. You're my little Diamond, even though I haven't even met you."

"I'm not! I'm no-" Steven felt his hoodie on him, but instead of feeling warm and comforting, it felt like it was needling him; poking and prodding him against his will. "I'm not a Diamond! I'm- I'm me!"

He took his hoodie and frantically removed it, slipping it over his head. His eyes were burning and he could feel his heart hammering in his chest.

"I believe in you, Steven."

"You _**don't**_!"

And with all the energy and anger he could muster, Steven threw his hoodie at the hologram. But again, it made no response, only flickering and corrupting briefly as the hoodie passed through it.

"You're going to do amazing things, my little Diamond. I just know it."

And with a click, the hologram disappeared, leaving Steven alone in the room, sobbing into his arms.

* * *

Pearl hurried down corridor, her eyes scanning for any sign of Steven but… Nothing. The corridor was empty. No doubt he had gone off to explore as soon as the power had come back on. She sighed in frustration. His curiosity always got the better of him.

No matter. He was in no danger on a ship so attuned to his every need. And luckily, Pearl knew its layout perfectly, and already had some ideas where he could be.

As she reached the end of the corridor, she heard a sound. It was out of place on the ship, and for a second, Pearl was unable to place what exactly it was. But as she approached the end of the corridor, she saw the door to the control bay was open and saw-

"Steven!" Pearl cried as she spotted him on the floor, his shoulders quaking. She rushed over to him, dropping to her knees at his side. But she wasn't able to get a word out before Steven spun around and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her chest.

"Steven-" she said again, but this time her eyes were drawn to the console behind him. A light was blinking, the light indicating that a message had just been played. And there was only one message on the ship, as far as she knew. That one her Diamond had made for Steven…

No. No. She hadn't wanted him to listen to it alone, she'd wanted to be there for him-

But no matter. He had heard it, and he needed her help.

Pearl's face scrunched as she began to softly rub Steven's back. She hugged him close and began to speak softly.

"It's okay. It's okay, I am here…

"I am here, dear…

"I am here."


	45. Heart to Heart

**Chapter Forty Five:**

Pearl sat there for an unknown amount of time, holding Steven's soft, warm body, until finally the sobbing subsided and he pulled out of her hold. With his cries gone, the command chamber did not feel quite so horribly vast.

But they were still on the cold, hard floor, Steven leaning against the throne and Pearl sitting not too far across from him.

Her hands were in her lap, folding onto each other. She wanted to reach out and hold his hand, to offer a reassuring touch, but Steven's hands were hidden in his own lap and Pearl wasn't sure how he'd feel about her simply reaching over and grabbing his hand.

So instead she sat there, silently waiting for Steven to say anything. And for a long time neither of them said anything, only looking at each other or at the floor or down at their own laps.

But finally, Pearl felt the need to say something, and spoke, "Steven… Are you… okay?" It was a foolish question she knew: clearly, he wasn't. But she needed to try and understand what had happened exactly.

For several more moments, Steven didn't say anything or make any indication he heard her. Not until his mouth twitched and he spoke, though still keeping his eyes downward. "Pearl?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, dear?"

"Did— I mean, have you ever met someone, and thought you knew them, only to learn more about them and realize you were completely wrong?"

Pearl felt a jolt in her chest, her suspicion morphing into a cold confirmation.

"I suppose that is inevitable," Pearl answered simply. "There are so many different people, it is impossible to truly know and understand them all completely."

"Yeah," Steven remarked, head slowly bobbing up and down. "I guess, especially if you've never really met the person before…" More silent moments followed before Steven continued, "Pearl? Can I— Can I ask you a question? A really important one."

Pearl squeezed her clasped together hands. "Of course, sweetie."

Steven hesitated a second before asking in a very small voice, "Do you… Do you think Mom loved me?"

Pearl bit her lower lip, her initial, knee jerk answer catching in her throat. She knew what her answer was, what it would have been had Steven perhaps waited to ask this. But Steven didn't need to be reminded of the cold, harsh truths of the world right now. Steven needed a warm embrace and reassurance.

"In her own way, she did," Pearl said evenly. "More than she loved… almost anything else, I would say."

"But she didn't even know me."

"Yes," Pearl said, considering her words carefully. "But she wanted to. And she had her own expectations for you."

"Yeah… I know."

Steven seemed to shrink in on himself then. He didn't say anything for several long moments, and when he finally did, his tone had a definite tinge of reproach to it. "Pearl? Why did you bring me here _now_?"

"What do you mean?" Pearl said delicately, though she was fairly certain she knew.

"Like, now? Why not— years ago, or years later, or…" He trailed off into incoherent grumblings.

Pearl gave herself time to carefully lay out her thoughts before answering. "I should have told you about the Drill," she said. He blinked at her with red-tinged eyes. "I thought you would react as you would have an infant. But you have taken the information… in stride."

Steven nodded, crossing his arms. "I'm not a baby."

She smiled only a little at his pout. Despite his still sometimes immature attitude… "No. You are not." Pearl sighed. "Which is why this was… difficult."

Steven blinked at her again, this time with confusion.

"Your mother always wanted you to inherit her position when you were ready. Not just this ship, but… everything it means to be a Diamond." Which would mean… Well, Pearl was not sure what it would mean. But certainly no more private lessons with a lowly Pearl, no more beach days, no more having Steven fall asleep in her lap…

It had been selfish. Horribly, horribly selfish. But she had not wanted any of that to end.

"I knew you deserved to know more than I was telling you. That you deserved your own ship. But what if Blue Diamond had left a message saying it was time to return to Homeworld, then we— or rather, I— would have no choice but to obey, and…"

Pearl shook her head.

There was the sound of Steven shifting… and a moment later, she felt his hand on her shoulder. "Who cares what she said?" Steven asked, giving her a defiant look. "You don't want to go to Homeworld. I sure don't want to go to Homeworld. So we'll stay here, and do whatever we want."

Pearl felt her eyes fluttering at him, and was thankful she had opted not to wear her hair clip today.

"She's not here. But _we_ are," Steven said, a firmness starting to creep into his voice. "We're here. And that's what matters."

Pearl was quiet. Perhaps it would be best left there, but…

"Yes… she is no longer here," Pearl said.

Steven said nothing. Instead, he gently traced the outline of where his gem was. Pearl knew what he was thinking— he had asked similar questions when he was younger, although back then they had been filled with more mirth and wonder.

She pursed her lips, continuing, "I have watched over you for many years, Steven. And of all the things I have learned, it is that you are not her. You are Steven… My Starlight."

Steven raised his head, blinking at her and wiping away a few straggling tears. "S-Starlight?"

The corners of Pearl's mouth tightened. "Is that not a prefered term?" she asked stiffly.

"N-no, no," Steven said quickly. "It's just that you've never called me that before." A small smile crept across if face. "I… kinda like it, actually."

Pearl felt herself loosen a little. "I see. Well, I believe it is a very fitting name."

Steven wiped his eyes with his bare arm and then crawled over to Pearl, snuggling next to her, not unlike they had many nights at the Palanquin when reading stories together.

"Why's that?" he asked. "Because I'm so bright?"

Pearl grinned at the comment. "Perhaps," she said lightly. "But also because starlight is very precious."

"It is?"

Pearl nodded. "A star, the light and heat that it produces, is the basis for all life throughout the known universe," she said. "They are mighty, incredible things, with some older than Homeworld still providing light and life to the worlds they shine upon."

"Ohh," Steven cooed. "I'd never thought about it like that."

"That is why you are like starlight," Pearl said. "You shine light and life to those all around you."

Steven sniffed and shifted. He didn't say anything, but he huddled closer to Pearl, wrapping his arms around her, she doing the same, letting one of her arms rest around him.

"I love you, Pearl."

"And I you, my precious Starlight."

They stuck around the spaceship for a little longer. Steven didn't really want to… but he had promised to change the security settings for Pearl. It was kinda tricky, but with her help, she showed him how to make it so any Gem could come into the ship, no matter their rank.

He still felt kind of unsteady, and his eyes were scratchy, but Steven was glad they'd come.

Just, he hoped the next time Pearl wanted to give him some super important part of his Diamond legacy, he wouldn't do it only a few hours before he was going to be meeting Connie's family for a 'super important' get together.

* * *

To say Doug was excited for this dinner would be a _gross_ understatement.

When Priyanka had first suggested inviting the Universes over, he was over the moon. Mr Universe himself! Coming over to _his_ home! It wasn't like Doug was a huge fan who'd collected all his albums (including the indie ones from before he made it big), or anything like that.

Then add on the fact that Mr. Universe had basically helped save his daughter's life… and, yeah. Doug was feeling pretty amped for this. (Amped. Like, for music? Get it?). Also, more than a little nervous.

Doug was passing by the kitchen, making a mental note to check the rice in a bit, when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" he called, excitement already building in this stomach.

Connie called down from the stairs, "But Dad, the chicken is still—"

"Mr. Universe! A pleasure!" Doug greeted as he opened the door. He took the rockstar's hand and vigorously shook it with both of his own and... not quite letting go until Priyanka came behind him, clearing her throat.

"The pleasure is all ours," he responded. "And please, you can just call me Greg."

"Of course, Greg. Welcome to our home!" He swept his hand out and stepped aside, letting the Universes in.

After Greg came in his son, Steven, wearing a green collared shirt and hair neatly combed. "Nice to meet you, Doctor and Mr Maheswaran," he said, the picture of good manners. Doug didn't need to see his wife's satisfied little nod to know she approved.

The fact that Mr. Universe even had a son had been news to Doug. A little poke around Wikipedia (not that he'd been snooping or anything) had confirmed it. On the English language version, Mr. Universe's family wasn't much more than a footnote, but it seemed as though it had been the source of some minor scandal in Korea. Suddenly dropping out of music to care for his son, the mother a mystery to the tabloids…

… a mystery which was about to be solved, it seemed, as Steven was followed by a petite woman, wearing a blue sundress which matched her complexion and hair, the latter of which was pulled back by a yellow hair clip.

Doug nodded at her as she entered and he shut the door behind them. "And you must be Steven's mother! I can see the family resemblance, he looks just like you."

The Universes all exchanged looks, and Doug's stomach shifted uneasily. Had he said something wrong?

"Ah," Pearl said. "I am not Steven's mother. I am his... Guardian."

An awkward silence descended among them. Doug wasn't exactly sure what she meant by 'guardian' exactly? A step-parent, perhaps? That would make the most sense.

"Well, we're glad to have you all with us," Priyanka said, cutting the tension.

"Happy to be here," Greg said before sniffing. "Mmm~! Something smells nice!"

"Yes, we're having chicken tikka masala," Doug said. "It was my grandmother's recipe and I can tell you that it is amazing. Nothing beats a traditional, home-cooked—"

Doug blinked, his mind suddenly shooting back to the cooking meal. "The rice! I need to—"

"Don't worry, Dad. I took it off the burner."

Connie walked in from the hall, joining them in the living room. She was dressed now, wearing her white blouse and dress pants. "Hello, Mr. Universe; Pearl."

"Heya, Connie. Good to see ya," Greg said.

"It is. Hello, Connie," Pearl greeted.

Connie smiled, "Hi, Steven. You look nice. I like your shirt."

"Oh," Steven said. "Um, hi Connie. I like your blouse."

Connie giggled in response, which just seemed to leave Steven even more bashful.

"Well, thanks to Connie's timely intervention, dinner should be ready soon," Doug said, clapping his hands together. "So shall we adjourn to the dining table?"

(Connie rolled her eyes. His child never appreciated his ironic use of sophisticated language).

(Unless maybe she was right, and he really was that embarrassing?)

(He wasn't, right?)

"You bet," Greg said. "I'm starving."

Priyanka laughed. "Then you've come to the right place. Doug's been cooking all afternoon." She looked over at Connie, "Dear, why don't you seat our guests while your father and I get the food ready."

Connie nodded. "Okay. If you'll follow me," she said as she led them to their dinner for the night.

So, yes. Maybe Doug had spent the entire afternoon worrying about this dinner. What he'd say, how he'd act. It wasn't just a matter of making a good impression in front of Mr. Universe, but also the family of Connie's new friend.

It turned out… he really shouldn't have worried. At all. Steven was a cute kid. He and Connie spent almost the whole night chatting and giggling to each other at the kid's end of the table. Priyanka and Pearl began with a discussion about creating a properly balanced diet for their children, and were soon in rapt conversation about the general public's inability to evaluate medical research properly. Doug began, somewhat stiltedly, asking about Greg's music career, very aware the guy must get tons of questions about it. But Greg was really chill, and didn't mind at all. By the end of the night, they were discussing their favourite anime.

Also, Greg really liked Doug's cooking. That was really nice too.

* * *

When the 'dinner party' was finished, Lapis was there, waiting for them, perched on the top of Greg's van.

"How was it?" Lapis asked. She was greeted by a chorus of 'good', 'really fun!' and 'pleasant'. Lapis nodded, accepting this, even though she found very little of the concept appealing.

Everyone began to pile into the van, to drive Steven home, but Lapis suggested that she take Pearl. "You're working on the drill tonight, right? I can get you there faster."

She was a little hesitant to say that part out loud, since even passing mentions of the drill were still enough to make Steven grumpy. But he didn't even blink, just gave Lapis a thumbs-up. Pearl, for her part, nodded. "That would be appreciated, yes."

After the others said their last goodbyes to their human friends, the van trundled away, looking far too big for the streets it was driving in. Lapis waited a little longer than strictly necessary to pick Pearl up and take off. She just wasn't sure what the best way to carry her would be. That type of thing had never been a concern for her before— but then, it had never been an issue, before the mirror. She hadn't been a transport vehicle, she hadn't had to think about the most comfortable or dignified way to carry another Gem—

The question was settled without Lapis even having to say anything. Pearl simply walked up behind her, and wrapped her arms around Lapis's shoulders.

"Ready?" Pearl asked.

Lapis practically rocketed into the night sky.

"It's pretty," Pearl commented, peeking over Lapis's shoulder once they level out.

Lapis looked down. It was. Little black houses, twisting streets, all speckled with lights— yellow, white, red…

But… "It's kind of repetitive," Lapis said. She shrugged. "After spending four or how many hours staring at it, I could use a change of scenery."

"Were you bored?" Pearl asked, in her ear.

Lapis shrugged again. The first little while had been interesting, getting to explore the neighbourhood, startle some of the humans. Then the novelty had worn off, and she'd settled into waiting and watching. Her main passtime, these days. "I was fine."

"You could have joined us," Pearl said. "Steven offered. So did Greg. I'm fairly certain the Maheswarans would not have minded. The dinner was enjoyable."

"You don't eat," Lapis pointed out. She put on a burst of speed as a warm updraft came up beneath her, a rarity in the cooling night air.

Pearl let out a little noise at the speed— not quite a sigh, not quite a squeak. It sounded like it was probably a happy sound, so Lapis didn't slow down. "It wasn't the food," Pearl said. "Humans need to eat, but they mostly use it as an… excuse for conversation. It's a nice tradition. Simply speaking with people because you can."

"Hmm," said Lapis, noncommittal. She didn't know how to put into words the sheer… discomfort, she felt, trying to talk with someone she doesn't know, without a purpose to the conversation. Especially humans. So she asked, instead, "What do you like about it?"

Her companion went very, very quiet, in the ways that Pearls often did. The Earth passed below them, now streaked with highways still filled with cars.

"I like being able to speak. It wasn't something I was… allowed to do, before."

"Oh. Right." Well. Now Lapis felt bad.

"But it's more than that," Pearl continued. "It's… knowing that the people I'm speaking with are actually _interested_ in what I have to say. And the Maheswarans were. When they asked me 'How do you spend your time?', they aren't checking to make sure I was on task. They just… wanted to know.

"Connie especially. I see why Steven likes her."

"Oh?" prompted Lapis.

"Yes," murmured Pearl, as they glided over a large, still pond. "She joined us in some of our lessons, did you know? She was very attentive, clever, hardworking. Very polite. She sees things from a new perspective."

"Sounds like she'd make a good Pearl," Lapis teased. In the back of her mind, she reflected that such a comment should be an insult, but in that moment, she'd truly, genuinely meant it as a compliment.

Which was how Pearl took it, thankfully. She let out a little laugh and said, "It would certainly be a sight to see."

They fell into a companionable silence, and flew on. After a few minutes, Pearl said, "This isn't the way to to the nearest warp pad, is it?"

"Ah. No." They lost a little height as Lapis's wings stuttered. "I was… taking the, er, scenic route to Beta. That, uh— Is that cool?"

A pause. And then Pearl gripped her a little tighter. "Yes. I do believe it is 'cool'."

Pearl's touch was very different from Steven's, the only other person Lapis had ever carried like this. He was warm and soft and malleable. The heart beating in his chest was a constant rhythm. But Pearl was hard, steady, like polished stone. Like a Lapis. Well, like any normal Gem, presumably, but other Lapises were the only frame of reference she had.

Something brushed Lapis's legs. She jerked in surprise.

But it was just some leaves. In her distraction, she'd floated so low down that she'd nearly flown them right into a grove of trees. Lapis quickly pulled them back up.

Beta was a fair distance. Not huge, obviously. Earth was only a single planet, and not an overly large one at that. Its distances were tiny compared to the vast stretches of space that Lapis was used to traversing. But an atmosphere slowed her down, of course, and anyway… She found she didn't really want to go at her full speed. Not right now.

So they flew. Sometimes they carried on in companionable silence. Sometimes they spoke. The pair of them would point out some feature or other of the landscape below them, and it would be a jumping off point, and soon they would be on another topic entirely, and neither of them could entirely say how they'd gotten there…

By the time Pearl was complimenting her on how nice her dress was, and "Oh, there are some human designers with some lovely styles that would compliment your gem's color perfectly", Lapis thought: _Oh._ _She's flirting._

It took a few moments for that to register.

Then there was a flicker of panic—

— then calm. Okay. Flirting. Lapis could handle flirting. She'd used to do it with other Lazulis. She used to _enjoy_ it. And of course, anyone caught flirting with another kind of Gem, let alone someone else's Pearl— a _Diamond's_ Pearl, at that— would have been in hot magma, but—

But she was on Earth. And 'her Diamond' was a 12-year-old human boy who likes cuddling while watching romance movies. Who was going to _care_?

So Lapis flirted back.

It was fun.

But it couldn't go on forever. Eventually yellow began to creep over the edge of the horizon. The landscape below them changed again. Not human settlements or highways, or watery pond, or fresh forests. Life began to wither into the stark, orange rock beneath. The mark of the Kindergarten, stark and barren after all this millenia.

It had never really bothered Lapis much before, but maybe she could understand why the Crystal Gems found it so unpleasant. At least a little.

"How's the progress on the drill going?" Lapis asked as they got closer.

"Very well," said Pearl. "We're in the final stages. We could begin drilling in a few days, if we had to, but Peridot thinks we should do some test runs, and I'm inclined to agree. All readings show that we have time yet before the Cluster truly becomes a threat, and we should take advantage of that to ensure our drill is as stable as it can possibly be."

"Mm. That's good," Lapis said, and she meant it. "So… I guess you'll be working on it less, soon, huh? I mean, you, and other Pearl, and Peridot."

"A little, yes. But it's still going to be my main focus until the Cluster has been decommissioned."

"Right, right! Sure. Of course." Lapis fought to keep her disappointment out of her voice, and seemed to have worked.

At least until they were close enough to the project site itself that the Drill was visible, and the sound of Peridot and White Pearl working on it was loud enough to be heard twenty odd feet above. Lapis was about to dive down to meet them, but Pearl said, "Wait."

Lapis waited.

"Are you going to stay and work on the drill with us?"

Lapis shrugged. "If you want me to."

"... but you don't want to, do you?"

Lapis shrugged again. She didn't, but, "... does that matter? This is important."

"Yes, but, you're not…"

Pearl trailed off, and Lapis could guess what she was thinking, but was too polite to say. "I can't do anything? Yeah. I'm useless at mechanics." She didn't feel any shame at admitting it; it just wasn't what she'd been made for. "But I can still try to help you, if you want."

"But what do you want?" Pearl's voice was quiet, but insistent.

And Lapis didn't know how to answer her. "Dunno."

Gradually, she brought them closer to the ground. Let Pearl slide off her back. Lapis was having trouble focusing on keeping them in the air, and this feels like a conversation they should be having face-to-face.

"I don't really have anything I want to do," Lapis said, flatly, as Pearl fixed her gaze on her. "I'm a terraformer without anything to terraform. So I might as well help with the drill."

"Or wait five hours for us to eat dinner. Or finish exploring Blue Diamond's ship." Pearl nodded, but she was frowning. "Yes. I understand. I really do understand. Earth is… terrifying, in its freedom."

Lapis crossed her arms. "I'm not scared. I'm just—"

 _Bored._

 _Less bored than I was in the mirror,_ Lapis shot back at herself. But that bar was so low to clear, it was practically embedded in the ground.

"Greg's suggested I try some clubs," said Pearl.

Lapis looked at her. "Like… combat?" She wasn't totally surprised Pearl might want to start learning to fight, but she hadn't imagined her to pick up a _club_ as her weapon of choice.

Pearl shook her head. "A human term for extracurricular activities that people do in groups."

"Oh," said Lapis. "Right."

"Next week I am going to try… 'card night' with Greg. I'm not sure if I will like it, but I am going to try it and see. If you wish, you are more than welcome to join me."

Lapis looked at her for a few long moments, then said, "Sure, why not?"

The genuine, heartfelt smile that produced on Pearl's face certainly made it worthwhile.

"Then I look forward to it," Pearl said. She briefly reached out, and squeezed Lapis's shoulder. "For now, you really don't have to stay unless you'd like to. If not… Well, Steven gave me some books and other forms of entertainment for my barn. Feel free to h— borrow them, if you'd like."

Lapis found most human entertainment baffling, especially without Steven there to explain parts of it, but again, all she thought was _Why not?_

"Okay," Lapis said. "I'll try. You— have fun, I guess."

"You know?" Pearl said, turning her gaze down the canyon, where White Pearl could be seen in the dawn light, busily working on the drill. Pearl smiled. "I think I will."

* * *

Connie's weekday curfew was a strict 8:00pm lights out. On Fridays, Saturdays, and Weekends that got extended to 9:00, and Connie always relished in it, even when that extra hour was being used for chores like tonight. Yes, there were dishes to clean, a table to wipe, and leftovers to be arranged, but she hardly minded all that. She was beaming as she she wiped down the glasses.

She could barely even remember the last person she'd invited over to her family's house. It had been… three moves ago, maybe four. The girl's name had escaped her, leaving only an impression of freckles and red hair.

But it had led to an evening of stilted conversation, and the girl picking uncomfortably through her curry and avoiding her vegetables, and judgemental looks from her parents. And the next week at school the girl had avoided Connie, and Connie had hidden in the school library and tried not to cry, and in the end none of it had even mattered because they'd moved away three weeks later.

But tonight… it hadn't gone like that.

Dad plucked a dry glass from Connie's hand, put it away on a high shelf and commented, "That was nice."

"Yes," said Connie and Mom in unison. "It was."

Mother and daughter looked at each other in mild surprise, Dad chuckling at them.

"But yes," continued Mom, smiling one of her rare genuinely-pleased smiles. "The Universes are a lovely family. I wonder why we didn't have them over earlier."

Connie shrugged as she started drying the cutlery.

"Life," said Dad. "We got busy. But with some extra free time ahead of us, we should do this again. And, oh, we should get to know your other friend's family."

Connie froze.

Mom said, "What's her name again?"

"Amethyst," said Dad.

"Ah, yes," said Mom, pausing just a moment on the unusualness of it. "I agree. They saved Connie's life, it's only right we do something with them…"

" _What_?" said Connie.


	46. Fusion Cuisine

**Chapter Forty-Six: Fusion Cuisine**

"So, okay, backup. What's the big deal here?"

"The big deal is my parents want you to come for _dinner_ , Amethyst!" blared Connie's voice through the phone.

Amethyst cocked her head as she paced around Steven's Palanquin. "Okay, cool. Sounds fun. Do we like, come right now? Cuz I think Pearl's working with the drill and she doesn't like getting interrupted when she's in 'the zone'—"

"No, no, not now! It's not even afternoon yet. Just... Find an evening that works for you guys in the next week, and text me. My parents just want to meet your parents—"

"Uh." Amethyst felt a twinge of discomfort squirm in her stomach. "I don't have parents?"

"I know, I know," said Connie, voice taut. Like, she always sounded kinda freaked out whenever her parents (or, well, her mom) came up, but this was a whole 'nother level. "They're expecting a nuclear family."

"Like a bomb?"

"No, no. A nuclear family just means 'two parents with their child and/or children'," said Connie. "Just bring a couple of the other Crystal Gems along. Doesn't matter which two. Then you show up, prove that you're all responsible and respectable, and it'll be fine. No big deal."

"...Right," said Amethyst, not mentioning just how big a deal Connie was making it sound. "Sure. I'll go talk to the others and text ya, okay?"

"Okay. Yeah. Thanks, Amethyst." _Click._

Amethyst stared at the phone, and gave a shrug as she stored it back in her pocket.

Steven glanced up from the pile of barn junk they'd been poking at. "What was that all about?"

"Connie wants the Gems and me to go to a family dinner with her family?"

"Oh, okay." Steven turned his attention back to an old radio they'd dug out, and poked it with a screwdriver. "Yeah, I had that last weekend. It was fun."

Amethyst plopped down next to him, but was too distracted to get back into the junk. Not even the cool airplane rotor. "What did you guys even _do_?"

"Nothing special. Talked and ate, mostly. Though Mr. Maheswaran did show us his anime collection at the end. That was cool."

Amethyst gulped. She poked listlessly at the rotor.

Glancing at her sidelong, Steven said, "Ame? Are you alright?"

"I dunno, dude." Amethyst ran a hand through her hair. "Connie just seemed so nervous about this. Eating and talking? Rose _rocks_ at that, but Garnet and Pearl kinda both suck at it around humans. And I like doing those things, but I think I sometimes freak folks out sometimes? Which is _fine_ , scaring humans is half the fun, but I don't wanna upset Connie's parents..."

"You… do tend to get kind of carried away, yeah."

Amethyst crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Hey! I was just being honest!" said Steven. "But look, I've got an idea. What if I were to teach you guys?"

"... teach us?"

"Yeah! About manners and small talk and what to do at a dinner party!"

"What? Really dude? You'd do that?"

"Sure, it's no—"

Steven didn't even get to finish talking when Amethyst jumped to her feet, lifted him above her head, and tore out of the Palanquin. There was a brief scream as she nearly ran straight into Peridot. "Watch it!" Amethyst cried.

"Where are you going?" Bloop called, by the time Amethyst was halfway up the hill to the warp pad.

"Going to teach the Crystal Gems manners! I'll be back for dinner!" Steven called back.

Actually, they were back five minutes later, to grab a bunch of plates and cutlery and stuff from the Palanquin. Then they went back to the Temple, arms laden, Amethyst crying out for the others.

It took… a while to get going. Only Garnet was in the Temple, so they had to track the others down at the Beta Kindergarten, and Pearl didn't want to come. So Amethyst had to plead for a bit, wear her down. And then everyone wanted to know what was so important about this dinner. And then they got back to the Temple and realized they still didn't have enough cutlery for everyone.

Steven was about to go raid his Dad's van, when Rose suggested they use her room instead. Which was an awesome idea, only then Steven got distracted by the whole 'can make basically anything' thing, and spent ten minutes or so getting Rose to create trampolines and centaurs and stuff.

… and okay. Maybe that stuff was all pretty fun and Amethyst enjoyed it, too, but that was besides the point!

Eventually all five of them were gathered around a cloud-generated table, laden with a fancy meal of soups and salads and steaks and other stuff that made Amethyst very sad none of it was real.

Pearl was poking at it unenthusiastically with a fork as if it was, though. She looked up from her chicken and gave Steven a cool look. "Right. How are you intending to… ah, begin this lesson, then?"

"Uh…." Steven paused. "How about we do, like, a dry run? You guys try to have a nice meal while chatting with each other, and at the end, I'll tell you what you can do better!"

The Crystal Gems looked at one another.

"Sounds good," said Amethyst.

"Very fun!" agreed Rose.

"Why not?" sighed Pearl.

"Let's do it," decided Garnet.

So, they started eating. Or pretended to eat. Pearl sat there, stiffly miming the whole thing. Garnet did the same, idly wondering how humans choose what animals to eat and which ones to leave alone, which seemed like an interesting topic to Amethyst. Rose kept coming up with ideas for other dishes that would be amazing, and clapping with gusto as they popped into existence on their ever-expanding table. Amethyst knew they were fake, but got into the acting, climbing up to grab some of everything for her plate.

She could have eaten everything on the table by herself, no problem, but knew that for the real deal, she'd need to restrain herself. So after what she'd judged was probably a normal human amount of food, Amethyst happily took her plate and smashed it on the ground.

"What the heck, Amethyst?!" Steven yelled, jumping to his feet in surprise. "Why'd you do that?!"

"Oh. Was that one of the real plates? Whoops," said Amethyst, poking at a porcelain shard. Just to check, she popped it into her mouth. It gave a satisfying crunch.

"Yeah, it was real! Why'd you break it?" Steven demanded.

Amethyst blinked at him. "Isn't that… what you do?"

" _No—_ " Steven began, just as Garnet said, "I do remember plate smashing being a thing."

"Yes, I recall that too. In… Athens, was it? Or Olympia? I always get those two mixed up," said Pearl.

Rose nodded. "Oh, I loved Greece back then. Such lovely parties! Amethyst, remember that one you took me to?"

"The one where I defeated the so called 'God of Parties', so they like, showered me in wine and gold? Heck yeah I do!"

"Wait, wait, slow down," said Steven. "I've been to Greece. I don't remember people throwing plates around."

"Oh, it wasn't all the time. Just at really special occasions," said Rose.

"Like this!" said Amethyst, grabbing another plate and throwing it on the ground. Thankfully it was made of clouds this time.

Pearl nodded. "Though I'll admit, even then, I thought it was a fairly wasteful tradition. Not to mention messy."

Sitting back down, Steven pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, well. Maybe they do it in Greece? Or used to? But I'm like, 99% sure that if you try that at a restaurant here, you'll get thrown out."

Amethyst sagged in her chair. "Aww."

"But throwing plates is just the start," said Steven, pulling out the notebook he'd been writing in for the whole practice meal. "I saw a lot of reaching across the table, ordering food to get passed around, eating with your hands, burping—"

"What's wrong with burping?" said Rose.

"Steven's going to say it's no longer considered polite," Garnet said.

"Oh thank the stars," said Pearl.

"And is it really not cool to eat with your hands anymore?" said Amethyst. "Because I've seen _you_ eat pizza with them, dude."

Steven sighed, and surveyed them. "Okay. I can see this is… going to take longer than I expected. Let's take it from the top…"

And it did take long. Excruciatingly long. How could humans make eating food so boring?!

There seemed to be a rule for everything. What cutlery to use and when. Where to put that cutlery when it wasn't being used. Ways to sit. How to ask for more food. How quickly you were actually supposed to eat and drink without it being considered weird.

And that was just the food half. Steven had tons of extra rules for conversation. Never insult; only compliment— though Amethyst supposed that sort of made sense. Don't talk too loud. Don't ask people about 'overly personal stuff' like money or health and a whole bunch of other things. There were a lot of stuff they weren't supposed to talk about, actually. Steven eventually decided it would be easier to write up a list of stuff they _were_ allowed to talk about. It included: work, school, entertainment, travel, and the economy.

"Grown ups like talking about the economy," said Steven, with a firm little nod.

"What about it?" asked Pearl.

"I dunno. Mostly how bad it is, I think."

Eventually, though, eventually, Steven said he thought they'd be okay. "And you don't need to be worried anyway," he told them. "The Maheswarans are super nice, really. Just be yourselves."

"That's a lovely sentiment, Steven," said Rose, with a smile.

He grinned back at her. "Thanks. It's a thing Dad always says to me."

The group filed out, Pearl sighing about how glad she was that whole thing was over, Garnet and Rose teasing her. Amethyst hung back as they warped away, probably back to the drill.

"Hey, dude?" she said to Steven. "Thanks for this."

"No problem," said Steven. "It's… what's friends are for, right?"

"... Yeah," said Amethyst. She waved him off as he went to eat his actual dinner.

There was only one other thing. She'd spent the last couple hours mulling over who to bring with Rose. Garnet ate sometimes, but she almost never talked around strangers. Pearl talked a lot, but she never ate. Not talking or not eating... Steven had said that either would be considered super rude to humans. Good thing Amethyst was pretty sure she knew someone who was super friendly and personable and would have no problem dealing with food. All she had to do was ask...

* * *

Drumming her fingers against the dinner table, Priyanka Maheswaran sighed and was immediately hit with a delicious wave of scent wafting onto The Crab Shack's balcony. She shifted here and there, fighting the urge to order some appetizers.

It really was a good idea that Connie had suggested this next little dinner with her friend's family be eaten somewhere other than homeout. Despite her daughter's claim that a restaurant it might be more accessible ("Amethyst's, uh, mom, is really big."), Priyanka had assumed it was a fairly transparent excuse to get something other than home cooking. Now Priyanka was extremely glad that she and Doug hadn't spent hours preparing a full meal, just for the guests to still not have arrived, some twenty minutes past their reservation's start.

Doug coughed. Glancing at the menu, he said, "The calamari looks really nice—"

"No," said Priyanka.

Doug looked a little disappointed. Connie sighed, and slouched a bit in her chair. Well, she knew the rules. Even if the 'Gems' were going to be rude, that was no excuse for the Maheswarans to be.

The sound of waves rolling into the beach grew a little louder. Priyanka paid no mind— at least, not until she noticed Connie gaping. Following her daughter's gaze, Priyanka found their guests, wading directly to The Crab Bay through the sea itself.

They waved at the Maheswarans. There were… a lot of hands.

"Ah! Hello!" called Rose Quartz, when they were close enough. "Doug and Priyanka, yes! Lovely to meet you again, and in much nicer circumstances!"

"Yes, quite," Priyanka managed, with barely any hesitation. That was all her family needed to join in with greetings of her own.

She had met Rose Quartz previously, though her memory of the woman was hazy— which simply stood as a testament of how worried Priyanka had been for Connie at the time. Rose Quartz was, simply put, not a very forgettable person. She was tall and broad, like the most gorgeous football player of all time. Her hair and dress looked as though she'd come out of an animated princess film. She seemed to radiate pink, and her laughter sparkled like the restaurant's prosecco.

Then there was little Amethyst, the reason for this whole affair. Connie's new friend. She had been overshadowed the day Connie had lost a finger, and honestly, continued to be overshadowed now. Again, a mark of how odd the circumstances was, since her skin was painted purple and her hair dyed white.

But otherwise, Amethyst's clothing was quite presentable, and she greeted the Maheswarans politely if stiffly, so she had some of Priyanka's approval so far.

And then there was… the third one.

There had been a third woman looking after Connie after the injury. Quiet, tall, black, big hair and sunglasses. But _this_ woman was not her.

She was _huge_. Not like a footballer, but like a _building_. Four arms, four eyes. The top set looked like they might literally be a pair of glasses.

The giant gave them a large, toothy smile with a gap so massive, Priyanka suspected she could stick her own arm through. "Oh, _hello_ , everyone! Sardonyx is _in_ the building~!" she trilled. "Or patio, as the case may be. Charmed, I'm sure."

Sardonyx held out one of her hands. Priyanka shook a single finger, Doug and Connie following suit. The giant laughed, the sound ringing across the bay.

 _Well,_ Priyanka thought, doing her best to keep her expression even Amethyst's family sat down. _They can't help how they look. That's no reason to treat them differently._

"Lovely to meet you as well," she told them. "Priyanka."

"Yes. I'm Doug," said Doug.

There was silence from the kids' end of the table. Looking down, Connie was just mouthing something at her friend. Priyanka loudly cleared her throat.

"Oh! My name's Connie!" Connie mumbled, jumping up a little.

"Oh yes, dear, I know. But thank you just the same," said Sardonyx.

"Connie is such a _beautiful_ name," said Rose, leaning over the table. "Humans pick their babies' names individually, yes? Why did you choose that one?"

It was an… unorthodox start to small talk, to say the least. But linguistics was at least an interesting topic.

And it was at least, until the drinks and appetizers arrived. Rose positively cooed in delight, loading up her plate with bread and calamari, and downed nearly half of her wine glass in a single gulp. Sardonyx ignored the food, but she at least sniffed the wine approvingly, and saw the waiter off with a, " _Fantabulous_ , darling, simply wonderful!"

Clearly deducing this was at least a safe topic of conversation, Doug went, "So you both like wine?"

"I adore it," said Rose, leaning forward again and making intense eye contact with him. "It's such a fascinating, idea, putting a fruit through such a transformation. Crushing, stirring, years upon years of fermentation. Such much effort to create something for the sole purpose of making humans happier. It's magical!" She grabbed her glass, downing what was left in a single gulp. "It's such a _human_ idea! I just love it."

"The different scents are certainly interesting," added Sardonyx. While she was smiling, one pair of her eyes fixed on Priyanka and Doug, her other pair were staring sidelong at her partner.

Perhaps it was just her size, but Sardonyx's steady gaze left Priyanka feeling a little unsteady herself. She took a sip of her wine. It was quite nice. Very floral.

"They said this was from France, didn't they?" Priyanka asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Doug agreed. "I'd love to go to France one day."

And Rose Quartz was off again. Talking about how she'd loved France, even if it had 'changed its name again', and how temperate the climate was, absolutely perfect for gardening… Doug helped keep the conversation going, asking polite questions, though Rose hardly needed any prompting. She seemed to find everything either delightful, or funny, or wonderful, or filled with any other amount of whimsy.

Priyanka listened silently for a time, sipping her wine and picking at some calamari, when Rose made a comment to Doug about taking him to a particular countryside in France. She frowned, glancing between Rose Quartz and her husband. Rose was starry-eyed, practically laying on top of the table as she listened to what Doug was saying.

Was she… flirting with him?

Priyanka covered her concern by pretending to look at the menu, and took a moment to reprimand herself. She didn't consider herself the jealous type, and scolded herself for such immaturity. Rose Quartz was just being friendly surely, as was Sardonyx.

Thankfully, the waiter came to take their orders, which served as a brief distraction. After they left, Amethyst coughed and offered a change in topic. "So, uh, Mr. and Dr. Maheswaran," she said, in the slightly stiff tones of the overly-rehearsed, "what do you two do for a living?"

"Oh, well, Priyanka's a doctor, obviously," answered Doug with a chuckle. "And I'm a security guard."

"A security guard? For what?" said Amethyst, sitting up in her seat.

Priyanka quietly reached out under the table to lay a light hand on her husband's thigh. She knew he got insecure about this at times.

Doug seemed to relax under her touch, but still rubbed his neck while he answered, "Oh well, mostly just beaches. And stuff on beaches. Fairs, arcades, resorts, that kind of thing."

"Woah," said Amethyst, as suitably impressed as any child. "That's wicked, dude. Ya ever killed anyone?"

" _What_?" Priyanka almost choked.

Doug just laughed it off. "Oh, I've never killed anybody. I—"

"Do you want tips? I'm a super awesome warrior. What weapon do you use? I can teach you the whip if you want—"

"AMETHYST CAN YOU HELP ME FIND THE WASHROOM!?" Connie practically yelled.

"What? No," Amethyst said, pausing in the middle of reaching up to her chest for some reason. "Find it yourself, I'm in the middle of some—"

Connie was already up. "I _really_ need your help!"

"Fine, fine. Geez." Amethyst sighed as she pushed her chair away from the table with a screech. "But only cuz the food's taking for _ever_ and I could _really_ go for some hand soap right now…"

Priyanka couldn't stop herself from giving the girl an odd look, or watching her until she and Connie vanished into the restaurant and out of sight.

Turning back to the table, Priyanka found all four of Sardonyx's eyes staring directly at her. "Adorable, aren't they?" she asked.

"Uh, yes. I suppose they are," stammered Priyanka. She hadn't even really considered it. She supposed it was nice that Connie had a friend, even one who was so... Odd. She cast around for some topic of conversation, and her eyes fell on Sardonyx's wine glass. "My, you drank that all very quickly."

Priyanka's own glass was still barely half-empty. Last she had noticed, however, Sardonyx's had been half-full, and indeed, she hadn't even taken a sip of it.

"Oh!" Sardonyx gave another one of those ringing laughs. "I don't drink."

Frowning, Priyanka said, "Then how—?"

"Magic, of course!"

In demonstration, Sardonyx waved her hand over the glass in a shower of golden sparks. When she drew it away, her glass was full again with bright red wine.

Priyanka stared. She had known the 'Crystal Gems' were magical, of course, but such a casual display… Her mind couldn't help but try and process it, to find some underlying mechanism by which it was possible. Drawing up blank, she simply asked, "How?"

Sardonyx winked, tapping the side of her nose. "A magician never reveals her secrets, dear."

Priyanka took another sip of her own wine. Quite a large one.

The conversation managed to flow on. Eventually the main course arrived. And shortly thereafter, so did the girls. Connie was stiff as a board, while Amethyst had her arms crossed in the rudest of manners. Even ruder was the way she devoured her plate, sending globs of lobster and chips of china all over the table. Neither Sardonyx nor Rose Quartz did anything to stop her.

It took all of Priyanka's willpower not to say something herself. It wasn't her place to parent someone else's child.

She was about halfway through her salmon fillet when Rose Quartz leaned forward yet again (the table groaning under the sudden weight, this time). "So, Priyanka," she said, "You're a doctor, right?"

"I am," said Priyanka, once she'd swallowed her fork of potatoes.

"So that means you _heal_ people," said Rose, eyes wide and face flushed with excitement.

"Well, in a very general sense, yes," Priyanka agreed. "In practice, I wouldn't call it 'healing'. It's quite a bit more complicated than that. I work primarily as a surgeon, so I'm often dealing with issues such as cancers, organ transplants, appendicitis, etc. Long term, these treatments are very necessary, but short term, it can be rather unpleasant—"

Rose waved her hand, stopping Priyanka mid-sentence. "Yes, but it's all making people _better_ isn't."

Priyanka sighed internally. "Yes, I suppose I do."

"Amazing. Absolutely _amazing_."

Priyanka gave Rose Quartz an odd look, and glanced at her daughter's injured hand. Doug was the one who asked the question she was desperate to have answered, but too tactful to say out loud: "You… can heal too, right?"

"Oh, of course." Rose sighed. "But that's _nothing_ like modern human medicine."

Sardonyx laughed. It came out… sharper, this time. "It most certainly is not. Your healing is actually effective, after all."

Priyanka stiffened, and glared at Sardonyx. "'Modern human medicine' _is_ effective, thank you."

"Yes, yes, I'm certain it is, darling." Sardonyx waved a pair of hands. "What do you do these days, again? Is it the drilling holes in peoples' heads, or the bloodletting with leeches?"

Priyanka felt her hand clench around her fork as she resisted the urge to say, actually, empirical evidence suggested that bloodletting via leeches could be beneficial in certain specific circumstances. "Things are far more sophisticated these days. We understand the actual biological underpinnings of disease, and respond accordingly."

"Yes! Exactly," said Rose, giving Priyanka another shining smile.

Sardonyx's smile was frozen on her face. For a moment it seemed to flicker, and she muttered something under her breath— it sounded like ' _Be polite_ '. Then her expression seemed to relax into something much more natural. "Of course," she said. "We'd love to hear more about it."

Priyanka allowed Doug to briefly take control of the conversation while she very thoroughly chewed a forkful of salmon, just long enough to calm down. Luckily, she did find that talking shop did help improve her mood. Despite their interest (and _superiority_ ), neither of the Crystal Gems seemed to know very much about the different causes of disease. Sardonyx proved to actually be quite an accomplished conversationalist, always knowing what questions to ask to get an interesting response out of someone. And Rose continued to brim with curiosity, wanting to know what a cancer was, why some species evolved to become parasitical, what the fundamental differences between bacteria and viruses were…

Far more interested than Priyanka had really ever seen anyone, even the most eager of students. As she registered the way Rose twirled a lock of pink hair around her finger, gazing at the doctor starry-eyed, Priyanka couldn't help but wonder: _Is she flirting with_ **me?**

No. No, that was ridiculous. Priyanka wasn't sure what had gotten into her tonight, to make her so paranoid.

"Stars," she said, as the dishes were beginning to be cleared away. "So many illnesses are actually caused by other animals—"

"Organisms," Priyanka corrected automatically.

"—organisms, living inside humans and animals. I wonder if that's why sometimes my healing tears don't work."

Priyanka took a sip of wine. "Assuming your, er, magic heals all organisms equally, then yes, that seems like a reasonable hypothesis. Of course, to prove it, you'd need to run some experiments—"

"Experiments! Yes, experiments! My, Priyanka. You're so _intelligent_!"

"It's just basic science," Priyanka said, trying to hide just how pleased she was with the compliment.

"Oh, _and_ humble too," said Rose. And then she winked. Right at Priyanka.

Priyanka gulped. She _was_ flirting.

Glancing sideways, Priyanka noticed a small frown on Doug's face. So it wasn't just her. He'd picked up that something was odd, too.

She took a deep breath, reeling back her enthusiasm. She glanced at the dessert menu and immediately dismissed it. Eating sweets was inadvisable at the best of times, but right now, especially, it seemed like a good idea to wrap this outing up.

It wasn't just the Maheswarans who'd noticed Rose Quartz's behaviour. With the air of someone desperately trying to sound more enthusiastic than she actually was, Sardonyx said, "Rose, if you want to test the boundaries of your healing abilities, I'm sure _I_ could design some experiments for you."

Priyanka felt a pang of pity for Sardonyx. As awkward as it was to deal with the unsolicited flirting in front of her husband, how much worse must it be for Sardonyx?

Rose, it seemed, was not to be dissuaded. She said, "I'm sure you could, I'm sure you could. But how often is it that we get to play with a real life human doctor? Oh— I know, why don't we all come up with some experiments together?!"

Priyanka blanched. _Play?!_

"Yes, yes," Rose said, seemingly to herself. "What do you think, Amethyst? Us, your friend Connie, her family? Experimenting? We'll make a whole day of it!"

"Uh," said Amethyst.

"Uhh," said Connie.

"Uhhh," said Doug.

Priyanka put her hands down heavily. Not heavily enough to be a slam, but pretty close. "I'm sorry," she said, with a restraint she'd learned from over twenty plus years as a doctor, "but I cannot allow this to continue any longer."

"... allow… what?" said Rose, blinking.

" _This_." Priyanka waved her hand to encompass the situation at large. "Rose Quartz, you have been behaving _completely_ inappropriately!"

"Inappropriately?" Rose echoed. "But… I thought we were having so much fun? I was just… inviting you all out…"

"You were flirting! Shamelessly! First with my husband, then with me! Do you think that's _any_ way for a grown woman to behave? And in front of your partner, too! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

"My partner?" The furrow's in Rose's brow were as deep as trenches. She glanced at Sardonyx, and then her confusion cleared a little. "Oh, she doesn't mind! Tell her, Sardonyx!"

Sardonyx stood up. Considering how tall she was, it was quite a sight to behold. Her mouth opened, closed, opened again, no sound coming out. She froze, and flickered, and twisted, and then—

 _Split_.

Two women landed in a dishevelled heap on the floor. One— the black woman from when Connie was injured— stood up almost immediately, hands held out in a placating motion. The other— this one white and thin— wore a mask of icy fury. Both were blushing so heavily it covered practically their entire faces.

Priyanka gaped. Dozens of questions bloomed in her mind—

And she made the conscious decision not to ask them. She did not want to know. Standing, Priyanka snatched her purse off the floor. "That's it," she announced. "We're leaving."

" _What!_?"

At first, Priyanka thought the cry had come from Rose Quartz. And it had. But someone else had said it too, drowned out to be nearly unnoticeable. At least, until, Connie let out a little sob.

"Connie?" Priyanka asked, glancing at her daughter.

Through the glasses, Priyanka caught a glance of eyes on the verge of tears.

"No," Connie choked— and promptly ran off.

"Oh, for the love of…" Priyanka huffed. Could this evening get any worse? "Connie, GET BACK HERE!"

If the girl had heard, she didn't respond. She had already fled from the restaurant's deck and rounded the corner. Who _knew_ where she'd gone off to.

"Oh dear," said Doug, already getting up to go after her.

Priyanka nodded at him to go. "I'll pay the cheque inside, and meet you both at the car—"

" _No._ "

The sharp voice cut through the air like a knife, wholly unexpected. Priyanka couldn't help but turn around. She found it belonged to Amethyst, glowering at all the assembled adults.

"Could you three," Amethyst said, pointing at Rose Quartz and the two women who had, just moments before, been Sardonyx, "just be normal, for _once_?"

There were averted glances and arm-rubbing from the assorted Crystal Gems.

"We're sorry, Amethyst," said the square-haired woman.

"Yes. Sorry," mumbled the thin woman.

"We did _try_ ," said Rose Quartz, almost petulant.

Priyanka and Doug couldn't tear their eyes away. It was like watching a car crash.

"Well, obviously you didn't try hard enough!" Amethyst shouted. "This wasn't supposed to be difficult, you know?! Steven said _his_ family dinner went great. That it was _easy_! All you had to do was come and eat and be nice for, like, a couple hours! He gave us those lessons, and anyway, you've lived around humans for longer than I have, you should have been able to manage _that_ much!"

Despite the tantrum, Priyanka felt a pang of sympathy for her girl. She couldn't help how poorly behaved her family was.

"And you!" Amethyst cried, spinning around to point at the Maheswarans.

Doug and Priyanka glanced at each other.

"... us?" said Doug.

"Well, okay, not you," Amethyst said, a little softer, lowering her arm. "You actually seem pretty cool, and Connie seems to like you, so whatever."

"But you," she reiterated, glaring at Priyanka. "Do you know how scared Connie is of you, 'doctor?"

"Scared?" Priyanka spluttered. "I'm her _mother_!"

"Mother-smother. All I can say is, you're like, the absolute worst. Connie was totally freaking out about this whole thing because of you, and it turned out she was right to!"

Feeling very hot, and not at all appreciating being lectured by a child, Priyanka said, "Connie is my daughter. I am _protecting_ her."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Right. Of course. Cuz whenever Rose protects me, _I_ run away crying too."

Priyanka floundered, off put enough to not have an immediate comeback.

There was a soft, heavy warmth on her shoulder. "Come on," Doug said softly. "Let's go pay the bill together. And then, we can go find Connie."

"... right. Yes." Priyanka straightened. She had a brief image of Amethyst staring at her, small and defiant, as she turned towards the restaurant. None of her accusations mattered, any more than Rose Quartz's flirting did. That family may have saved Connie's life, but that dinner had more than proven that they weren't fit to be a part of her life.

But as Amethyst's words echoed in her head, Priyanka couldn't help but feel a niggling of doubt.


	47. Honesty

**Chapter Forty-Seven: Honesty**

Connie hugged herself as the late summer breeze blew through her. She was in front of the restaurant, pacing as she tried to get a grip on herself. The road— was mercifully deserted, the only person driving by didn't even spare a glance at her as they passed.

"Connie!"

She started, and looked over towards the restaurant's entrance, out of which both of her parents were coming out.

Connie scrunched her face into a tight grimace. Even though running off from the trainwreck that had been dinner had felt good, Connie knew that it was going to cost her. No doubt when they got home, Mom was going to haul out the abacus…

She should have gotten on the bus and gone to live on a farm.

"Connie, there you are," Dad said as both he and Mom approached her. They didn't look mad, at least, not in the way they did whenever Connie broke a rule. Or not _as_ mad.

She braced herself as she spoke, "Sorry for just running out like that. I know—"

"Connie," Mom said, interrupting her. She was silent a moment, Connie ruefully imagining that she was going over the abacus calculations in her head, before she continued, "Given what happened tonight, I suppose you can't really be blamed for getting upset like you did."

Connie blinked in disbelief, wiping her eyes that she didn't even realize were wet. "Oh," she said simply. "Then Amethyst and her- her family…"

"We're pretty sure they're leaving too," Dad said. "It, uh, sounds like it's going to be an awkward drive home for them too. Or walk. Or swim, or however they got here."

"Oh," Connie found herself saying again. She wasn't really sure _what_ to say. At least her parents weren't exploding. That was definitely a plus. But even with that in mind, she still felt wound up and… she wanted to talk to Amethyst. Though she knew, even with her parents taking this rather well, they weren't going to _let_ her head back and try and talk to Amethyst.

And part of that desire was fueled with the chilling thought that this might have been the last time Connie could see Amethyst. And not for the usual reason of Connie and her family moving.

Instead, she was afraid of her parents. _Ruining it_ , just like they had in the past. Like they always had.

One particular time stirred in Connie's mind. It was maybe two or three moves ago— it was hard to remember. Connie had met this boy at the school she was going to at the time. He was really nice, a grade older than Connie had been, but they shared a lot of interests together.

So one weekend, when Connie practically begged her mother to let her put off her tennis practice and violin lessons, Connie had went over to the boy's house, to hang out and play. And that part had actually gone really well. She remembered having a good time, watching things on Filmflix and eating some lunch and just having a good time talking to each other.

It had been _nice_. And, at the time, Connie had already been planning future get-togethers. But when her parents had come to pick her up, they had of course started talking to the boy's parents. And Connie hadn't been completely sure what the parents had been talking about, she had still been playing with the boy and hadn't really been paying attention. But whatever it was, she knew her parents were more than a little terse as they left and on the car ride home they had made it clear in no uncertain terms that Connie wasn't allowed to play with him any more.

Now, she couldn't even remember his name.

Looking back on it with an older perspective, Connie's pretty sure that the subject of healthcare and, more specifically, vaccinations had been the catalyst. The boy's parents didn't believe in them, thought they were dangerous, and Mom, being the well-learned and informed doctor that she was, just couldn't abide with that. And in a single moment, after such a fun and memorable day, her parents had completely killed a budding friendship. Even saying in that miserable car ride home that she was afraid of what Connie would catch going over there, ' _Either bad ideas or just diseases in general'_.

Not that it really mattered all that much, since they'd moved _again_ , just a few months later.

But that wasn't supposed to happen this time! Connie and Amethyst had already talked about what would happen when and if Connie moved again and Amethyst had said that between warp pads and growing wings, Amethyst wasn't going to let Connie out of her sight. This was supposed to be _it_. The friendship that would actually work out!

But now… after everything that had happened, she wasn't sure…

Connie gritted her teeth, bracing herself for what she knew had to be the obvious answer to her question.

"So… does this mean I can't hang out with Amethyst anymore?"

Mom and Dad exchanged looks.

"Rose Quartz was— very impolite—" Mom began, voice stiff and delicate.

"No! I mean, not know she was, but— I don't care. I don't care about Rose! I care about _Amethyst_! Please!" A little hiccuped sob escaped Connie's lips, she couldn't stop herself. "She's so- so cool, and fun, and I don't— I don't want to go back to just sitting in my room after school every day—

There was the feeling of Dad besides her, wrapping a warm arm around her shoulders. He gently pressed her, and Connie let herself sit down on the restaurant steps, even though it was probably dirty and would mess up her dress and normally her parents _hated_ that. He said, "You really like Amethyst, huh?"

"Uh-huh. And Steven too," Connie added, as another horrible thought hit her. Amethyst hung out with Steven too, maybe even more than her, now that they both lived in Beach City. Would she have to stop seeing _him_ too?!

"Priyanka," Dad said, in a soft, but oddly pointed tone.

A sigh. The sound of Mom's jacket rustling as she crouched down in front of her. Reluctantly, Connie looked up at her. "It's going to be alright," Mom said.

"Not if I lose another friend," Connie said, defiant, fiercely wiping her face.

"Honey, Amethyst saved your _life_ ," Doug said, before laughing lightly. "Outside of your mother and me, there's probably no one else I'd want you spending time with."

Mom sighed. "Your father is- probably- right. Amethyst isn't her guardians. Even if they were… more than a little rude…"

"That doesn't reflect on Amethyst herself," Dad finished.

"And I suppose," Mom added, "as, ah, over-enthusiastic Rose Quartz was… I didn't see anything that casts doubt on her as a mother.

Connie stared, afraid she was misunderstanding. "So- I can keep being- Amethyst's friend?"

A brief pause, which felt much longer than it was, Connie afraid to breathe. "Of course you can, dear," Mom said. "Just… take the things her family says with a grain of salt, alright?"

Connie felt her insides loosen a little as she nodded silently. "Okay," she said finally.

Dad put a hand on her shoulder and gently began to lead her to the car. "Come on, Maheswarans. I think we should all be heading home."

Mom nodded. "But you drive, Doug." She pushed a finger against her temple. "I think I may have been a bit too quick with my wine over dinner."

Dad laughed, but Connie was just silently reaching into her pants pocket and pulled out her phone, tapping the first name on the contacts list.

* * *

Amethyst was off to the edge of the restaurant's deck. She frowning very intently, doing her best to try and ignore the uncomfortable pressure that was radiating from Pearl and Rose.

Well, mostly Pearl, to be honest. Rose mostly just seemed confused.

She sighed, frustrated by the situation and frustrated that there wasn't anything else for her to really do. Connie and her parents were most likely already gone…

Amethyst jumped slightly as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw that hand was Garnet's. Her expression was its familiar stoic stonieness except, and perhaps this was just wishful thinking on Amethyst's part, but she could almost _swear_ she saw Garnet's eyes flickering from behind her glasses.

"Come on," she said simply. "I think you and I should head back to the Temple."

"What about Pearl and Rose?"

Garnet didn't even look back at the pair as she answered, "I think they're going to take a _different_ way back to the Temple."

Amethyst blinked before shrugging. "Yeah, okay. Whatever." She sniffed and wiped the underside of her nose. "Whatcha thinking? Flying?"

Garnet gave a curt nod. "It would be the fastest"

"A'ight. Sounds good to me." Amethyst then proceeded to climb onto the railing of the deck and begin to channel energy from her gem and direct through her form. She could feel her feet begin to bend and grow into claws, her mouth and nose stretching to form a beak, and her arms sprouting feathers as her arms and hands grew into wings..

A few seconds later and she was fully formed and ready to go. She glanced over at Garnet, who had shapeshifted into a similar, though overall bigger bird form. Despite everything, that made Amethyst feel a little better. Garnet didn't shapeshift much, but had for her.

"Let's go," Amethyst said, the words feeling just a tad awkward to get out thanks to her beak. She spread her wings and began to flap. Stepping off the edge of the deck's railing and taking to the sky, heading into the direction of the Temple.

The two flew in silent for a bit, the only sound being of flapping wings and the sound of Amethyst's own thoughts.

Really, it _was_ stupid to think this— dinner with Connie and her parents— would ever work. Sure it worked well enough with Steven, but at least he knew about human stuff. And his family was _normal_. And didn't have self-obsessed fusions, or Pearl and Rose in it, who couldn't just _chill_ for half a second-

"This wasn't your fault."

Garnet's sudden words cut through Amethyst's internal monologue. Without her realizing it, Garnet had flown right up beside her.

"Everything that happened with the dinner," Garnet said, clarifying an unasked question. "It all came down to Pearl and Rose."

"Sure," Amethyst said. "Whatever you say, G."

"It did," Garnet assured. "I was sharing a mind with Pearl at the time."

That… was a good point, and one that Amethyst hadn't considered. So if Garnet was saying that the main problem was Rose and Pearl, then that did make her feel a little better. At least it wasn't her or Connie.

Still, Amethyst should have known better than to bring either of them to this…

The silence resettled over them, but it lasted for even shorter period of time as Amethyst felt her chest vibrating. It took her a moment to realize what it was, before she drew up some more energy and grew an arm and hand from her chest, just below her gem. In that hand was her cell phone which was vibrating with a new text message.

It was from Connie:

hey ame, just seeing how it's going.

Amethyst thought for a moment, before she began to type out her reply, something that took a bit longer than usual due to doing it one handed.

nb just heading home

oh yeah. me too

Amethyst paused for a moment, flying silently ahead before typing out another message.

your parents seemed pretty ticked

A few seconds passed and a reply came in.

maybe? it's hard to tell honestly. they're not mad like they usually are anyway.

Amethyst snorted as she replied:

yeah wish i had that on my end rose and pearl are so miffed they weren't even talking when we left

wow. that's rough ame.

Another momentary pause, and Connie sent another message:

hey, you want to come by real quick? you can come through the window in my room so my parents don't have to know. just so we can say goodbye for tonight a bit more properly?

Amethyst felt her bird brow crinkle in consideration for only a moment before she texted back:

on my way

Amethyst retracted her extra arm and safely tucked her phone back into her form. She gave a burst of speed to catch up with Garnet, who had pulled ahead while Amethyst had been texting.

"Yo, Garnet. I'm heading out. Be back in the morning," she said, not even waiting for a reply before she sharply turned off and headed in a new direction.

* * *

Pearl followed Rose down off the restaurant's balcony onto the beach below, the gravel transforming into sand, crunching beneath their feet. They didn't talk. Pearl could recognise Rose was in one of her 'contemplative' silences. Pearl supposed she was too, but 'contemplative' seemed to be too gentle a word.

Rose dipped her feet into the water, and smiled at Pearl. "This will be a nice way to get back. It's been so long since we swam."

"We swam not long ago," Pearl said, voice flat. "With Amethyst and Garnet and the others."

"Yes. But I meant, just you and me, together."

Pearl felt something inside of her go all funny. She remembered the first time they'd gone swimming together. It had been very early in their rebellion, back when it had still been a game. Pearl had suggested it as a way to hide; no one could find them beneath the waves. It had been cool and quiet. Rose's hair had billowed, so big that Pearl could have gotten lost in it. They hadn't been able to speak down there, but they'd held each others' hands, and pulled each other through the currents and past reefs…

They could do it again. They could do it again, and everything would be good again. For a little while, at least.

But then it would start all over again.

Pearl squared her shoulders, and made herself say, "Rose… can we talk?"

Rose glanced at her, most of her attention still on the waves. "Hm? Of course. What about?"

"About- about- about, well, _us_."

"Oh?" Now Rose was looking frankly amused, her eyes sparkling with interest, and while usually Pearl adored that expression... not this time.

"Flirting," Pearl said. "I'm not okay with it."

"You're not?" Rose sounded genuinely surprised.

"Or— no, I am— I meant. Before." Pearl took a deep breath. "You said that Sardonyx was fine with you flirting with those humans, but she wasn't. Or, no. _I_ wasn't."

"Oh," said Rose again, that twinkle fading. She wore that somewhat reserved sense of frustration that tended to come up, those times Pearl had made her enthusiasm towards Rose's human suitors clear. "Anything about these particular humans?"

"Nothing about them in particular, no," said Pearl. In fact, looking back, she thought she rather liked Priyanka— storming out aside. "But that's not the issue."

"Yes, of course not. It's the fact that they're humans." Rose didn't actually roll her eyes, but it was a near thing.

"No. It's— it's not that," said Pearl, desperately trying to put words onto her emotions. "It's just— when you do— it makes me feel _bad_ , Rose."

Rose coked her head. "Bad… how?"

"… Lost. Ignored. Forgotten."

"Oh, Pearl." There was a rustle as Rose swept forward, cupped Pearl's face in her massive, gentle hands. "I could never forget you."

Pearl still felt stiff as ice. "It's… hard to feel that way, sometimes," Pearl confessed. She remembered so many long days, night, years, decades sometimes— where almost all of Rose's time was preoccupied with some human or other. "I just would— would really appreciate it if you… stopped."

Sighing, Rose pulled her hands away from Pearl's face. "Surely you can see how unreasonable you're being."

It was a strike to Pearl's core. She took a step backwards, fists clenching.

"You never get this way when I flirt with Garnet," Rose continued. "So I just don't see what the big issue is here."

"Garnet's— Garnet's _different_ ," said Pearl.

"Well, I don't see how."

Pearl could have gone quiet. She almost did. But in the back of her mind, she could hear Blue Pearl, voice quiet and pitying, saying; _We Pearls are attractive and alluring, but when we're not performing, no one pays us any mind. Their focus is on other, more important things._

But Rose Quartz wasn't like that. Pearl was going to prove it.

"Because Garnet's _Garnet_ ," said Pearl. "She's been with us since the beginning, or nearly so! And Garnet will always have herself, Ruby and Sapphire will always have each other. And _you_ promised me that we would always have each other! But when you run off with some human— where- where does that leave me?"

"Where you always are," said Rose, so gently, but… a little condescendingly, too. "And anyway, I didn't 'run off' with the Maheswarans. I didn't even kiss or sleep with them! I was just being polite! They seem like lovely humans, no harm in complimenting them. And anyway, they weren't interested—"

"But what if they _were_?" asked Pearl. "Them or some _other_ human? How long before you'd start being with them? I've seen you with Mr. Universe. Didn't take you long to start spending time with _him_ again—"

Rose's eyes narrowed. "He's a friend. That's all he wants from me, and I'm respecting his wishes."

"Then why can't you respect MINE?!"

A silence, horrible and deafening. Pearl wanted to throw herself into the ocean.

Drawing herself to her full height, Rose crossed her arms. "I'm sorry I've apparently made you feel bad, Pearl. But you need to respect my wishes too. Nobody's allowed to order me around, tell me how I spend my time."

It was like a pit had open up inside Pearl, filled with her worst fears, and it threatening to pull her in. She tried to claw out of it. "I'm not ordering. I'm asking. Please, Rose."

A long moment. And then, voice cold, Rose said, "No. You're being ridiculous."

Ridiculous? _Ridiculous_!

Rose was the one being ridiculous! Even the humans realized that! But two could play at this silly, stubborn game!

Pearl held her head high and said, "Fine."

"Fine?" Rose echoed.

"Fine," Pearl repeated. "You're right, Rose. We can choose how to spend our free time. And if you can't do this for me, then I don't think that I can be with you anymore."

"W-what?" Confusion rang in Rose's voice.

"I can't be with you," Pearl repeated.

"You're— you're leaving?" cried Rose, and the desperation in her voice felt _good_. Like an opponent's scream when Pearl thrust a blade into their form.

"Not leaving," said Pearl. "But leaving you. No more hand holding, no more kissing, no more fusion. I'll stop being _yours_. Not until— not unless you can give me what I want."

"Pearl," said Rose, staring at her.

Pearl stared back.

"Well— well, FINE!" Rose shouted. "Go ahead then! Go! Enjoy yourself!"

"I WILL!"

"GOOD!"

Head held high, Pearl turned on her heel, and walked, proud and defiant, away from the beach, away from the Rose, away from the Gem whose love she had risked everything for.

* * *

It was late, and Priyanka needed to get to bed. It had been… an interesting night, but mostly a long one. And she had perhaps overindulged a little over dinner.

But before she headed off for the night, she wanted to say goodnight to Connie and perhaps suggest that, in the morning, they could all get up and go somewhere and get breakfast, since dinner hadn't exactly panned out as expected.

Priyanka pushed gently against Connie's door, poking her head in and— stopping herself just before she spoke.

Connie was in her room, still fully-clothed, dozing in her bed propped up against a pillow like she did when she fell asleep before bedtime. Nothing unusual there— but so was _Amethyst_ , fast asleep and leaning against the same pillow Connie was.

Priyanka's immediate thought was 'how did Amethyst manage to get up to the second floor of the town house', but the question was quickly answered by the still open window overlooking Connie's desk, its curtains flapping in the evening breeze.

Besides. Knowing her weird magical family, Amethyst probably had spider-powers or something.

Priyanka felt mouth open and close multiple times as she tried to process what she should do exactly. She wanted to know how long exactly Amethyst had been here, if her _guardians_ knew she was here.

But… as she looked at the pair, Priyanka was finding it harder and harder to begrudge the two of them, especially after the night they had all had.

And what Amethyst had said to her and Doug was still fresh in her mind…

Besides, it wasn't like she had any way of contacting Amethyst's family. She was pretty sure they didn't even own phones.

With a small sigh, Priyanka walked as quietly as she could over to the open window and shut it, and drawing the curtains. And with a last lingering look at the two, Priyanka flicked off the light in Connie's room and close the door behind her.

Looks like they probably were going to get breakfast in the morning. It was only polite to feed your guest, after all.


	48. Divide

In the pale pre-dawn light, Garnet made her slow way up a hill, where there would be a cherry blossom tree waiting for her.

What else would be waiting? Even she did not know.

In her... well, if she was being honest, her most disappointing visions, there was no one there. Simply the tree, all by itself. In her best visions, Pearl and Rose were there, together, entwined in a kiss, or holding hands, or simply talking. In one particularly nice one, Rainbow Quartz was waiting there. She and Garnet would have sat together and watched the sun rise.

But Garnet's best visions had been incorrect.

Now it was just Pearl, silhouette dark against the horizon, and an identical Pearl formed of pure blue light. The two twirled around one another, leaping and ducking and sweeping, Pearl thrusting her sword again and again at the holographic copy of herself.

It wasn't the elegant, choreographed dance that Garnet had grown accustomed to over the millenia. Her movements were sharp, fierce, angrier than they had ever been since those first few centuries after the Rebellion's catastrophic end.

Garnet had intended to wait until Pearl was finished with her set before speaking up. But Pearl wasn't finishing. Usually she could defeat one of her holograms in less than two minutes, but now her stabs were wild, her movements erratic.

"Pearl," Garnet said.

Pearl barely glanced her way, just ducked under her enemy's blade.

"Talk to me," Garnet said.

Pearl thrust her sword at empty air, her opponent swinging around.

"Talking helps," Garnet said.

Pearl grunted as the hologram's blade scratched her cheek, unbalanced, not fast enough to parry-

Garnet's gauntleted hand came up, and caught the sword. With her free fist, she punched the hologram in the stomach. It wore an expression of programmed surprise as it dissolved.

And Pearl simply stood there, cheeks blue, sword in hand, heaving deep breaths she didn't need.

"Pearl," Garnet repeated. "It's okay. I'm here."

Pearl stared at her, eyes bloodshot blue. The sword dropped from her hand. Garnet didn't know what was going to happen. She didn't look at her future vision, not for something like this. Pearl might fold inwards, or run off-

She threw herself at Garnet's chest, sobbing.

All Garnet could do was hold her. Be her rock.

Eventually Pearl moaned, " _She doesn't want me_!"

Garnet stroked Pearl's back. "Tell me what happened."

"I did what you said!" Pearl sniffed. "I told- I told her- I told her how I felt when she was with humans- and she said I was being ridiculous- and I asked her to stop, and she- she _laughed_ at me and- and then she yelled, and she **does** like humans more than me after all, I knew it, I knew it, I was right, _I was right_..."

 _Oh, Rose_ , Garnet sighed.

"I don't think she likes humans more than you," Garnet told Pearl. "I think she simply reacted... poorly."

"You weren't _there_."

And she hadn't been. There was nothing Garnet could say to that, so she just rubbed circles into her friend's back, a wordless comfort.

Pearl had withdrawn from Garnet's chest, pulling herself into a tight ball in her lap. Her face was even whiter than usual, her eyes burning blue. "I never should have brought it up." She furiously wiped her eyes. "Rose is right, I'm being selfish-"

"You're not being selfish."

Pearl jerked away. "I was! I- I should go, tell her I'm sorry, maybe- maybe I can still fix this-"

Garnet gripped her by the shoulders, held her down. Willed her glasses to dissolve, so she could look Pearl directly in the eyes. "Pearl. You are _not_ being selfish."

"I am! You should have seen her, Garnet! She was so upset! And she's right, I shouldn't be ordering her around- the rebellion- we're all allowed to do what we like-"

Garnet sighed. "We may be free to do as we please, now," she said, "but that doesn't mean we always should."

Pearl blinked up at her, confused.

Normally, it was a fairly simple concept. One that Pearl understood quite well. And that Rose did too, for all that she sometimes got carried away. But Pearl was emotionally distraught now and could benefit from a reminder, worded plainly.

"We still have responsibilities," Garnet said, slowly, firmly. "We can choose to neglect them. But if we do, we must bear the consequences."

Pearl's brow furrowed, as if she couldn't see how this connected to anything else.

"We have a responsibility to those we love," Garnet continued. "A responsibility to help them be fulfilled, happy. Rose neglected that responsibility to you." _Had_ neglected it, for perhaps longer than any of them had dared admit. "You have things you want out of your relationship, things you need. You wanted to have a conversation about it, but Rose refused. But relationships are _built_ on conversation.

"You weren't selfish," Garnet finished. "You were standing up for yourself."

Cheeks flushing, Pearl lifted her chin, and for a moment she was the terrifying renegade Garnet had first met with a sword to her throat.

Then she seemed to collapse again. She whispered, "I feel so awful."

"I know," said Garnet. "I know."

She had had fights in the past. Fights which had literally tore her apart. She looked back at them the way she imagined a human would look back at old scars. Apart from the occasional twinge, they were nearly painless now; but once, they had been gaping wounds.

But those fights had _made_ her, formed her just as much as each kiss, compliment, and dance had. Garnet had needed them to grow.

Rose and Pearl needed them too.

There was a burst of breeze from the coast. It rustled through the branches of the tree, dislodging a few of its blooms. A few loose petals landed on the Gems. Pulling herself out of Garnet's lap, Pearl picked a cherry blossom up, turning it over and over in her hand, expression distant.

"Garnet? Do we… Can we… Do we manage to fix this?"

Garnet took her time before she answered, "Yes."

"You're sure?" The desperate hope in Pearl's eyes was almost painful. "You Saw that?"

"No," said Garnet. "I didn't." Those futures were too far off, too scattered, too varied. "Even if I had, my future vision is far from certain.

"But I know you both. You care so deeply. You fought a war for each other." Garnet smiled. "If you both work at this, I see no reason you won't be able to mend this."

"Oh." Pearl wrapped her arms tight around her own chest, and squeezed. "Good."

Garnet shifted position, to come sit next to her friend. She wrapped an arm around Pearl's slender frame. After a moment, Pearl let her head come to rest in the crook of Garnet's neck.

They sat like that for a long while. Sometimes Pearl sniffled or muttered to herself. Garnet didn't comment. She simply watched as the sun rose higher and higher.

Once it had reached its peak, Garnet stood up, re-summoned her glasses. Pearl looked at her in dull surprise.

"There's an old Homeworld laboratory that's going to be unearthed in the Gobi desert," Garnet announced. "It'll be filled with monsters. I need help clearing it out."

Pearl blinked.

She could say no. Garnet wouldn't blame her in the slightest.

But she was Pearl. No matter what else, she loved a good fight.

She nodded, and summoned her spear. "Let's go."

* * *

It was close to midday by the time Amethyst got back to the Temple. Not just because Connie and her parents had offered breakfast (and Amethyst never turned down a meal), but also because she had opted to take the scenic route coming back. Namely, flying, but at a leisurely pace, taking in the sights.

(... and maybe pulling a _few_ pranks on hapless humans as she went.)

Not that there wasn't much to see that she hadn't a dozen times already, of course. But it was more to give herself something else to focus on while she also tried to think of what exactly she was going to say to everyone when she got back. _If_ she was going to say anything.

She hoped that everything would be more or less resolved when she got home. Rose would probably apologize and that would prompt Pearl to do the same. And then Rose would do what she always did after major incidents like this and scoop Amethyst in her arms and hug her tightly while they went and did something fun.

That was what usually happened; when Amethyst was upset, when she got into a fight with someone, even when Rose and Pearl had a fight in front of her. But last night was just so different and _weird_. Connie's parents had yelled at Rose and Sardonyx, and then Amethyst had yelled at Connie's parents _and_ Rose, Pearl, and Garnet. And while at the time that had felt good, now Amethyst couldn't help but feel a little worried.

She had never let off like she did last night, and while Garnet had seemed pretty chill afterwards, she had no idea how Pearl and Rose would react. Would they yell back at her?

Stomach sinking, Amethyst flew into the Temple, but at least its entryway was empty. No Pearl, no Rose, not even Garnet. Amethyst opened her mouth to call for someone, but she stopped herself when she remembered it'd be unlikely anyone could hear her in the Temple proper. Instead she plunged into her own room. She did not linger there long, though.

She ran back to the waterfall that flowed in her room and dived into the pool it emptied into. She swam a short ways before surfacing, though not in her room, but rather Pearl's. Amethyst didn't bother getting out of the water, only swimming around and calling Pearl's name, but she didn't see nor hear Pearl respond.

Frowning, Amethyst dove back into the water and swam even deeper, this time going further and further until the water seemed to actually grow in thickness, forcing Amethyst to go from swimming to digging. But after a bit of effort, Amethyst was able to break the surface again, this time coming out of a room that was almost all pink and covered in slowly drifting pink clouds.

Rose's room.

Amethyst was a little hesitant at first as she pulled herself out of the grounded clouds. She _had_ been hoping to see Garnet first, before Pearl or Rose. But as she got up, she began to hear something. At first she thought it might have been talking but she soon realized what it was actually.

Crying.

And since it was coming from Rose's room, it made sense that it was _Rose_ that was crying.

Again, Amethyst found herself hesitant to move further, but this time it lasted only a second. If Rose was upset enough to be crying, then Amethyst probably wouldn't be able to live with herself if she just ignored it.

It didn't take much to find Rose. Her huge form was impossible to miss.

Amethyst gulped nervously. Was… Was Rose crying because of last night? Because of what Amethyst had yelled at her after the dinner?

As Amethyst slowly approached, the sound of Rose's crying had grown more distinct and Amethyst could now see her shoulders shaking with each sob. But there was also a figure in front of Rose. Not a real person, but only the shape of one crafted out of the fluffy pink clouds that made up Rose's room.

The cloud figure, even though it looked literally like a figure _made_ out of clouds, was still tall and lithe, with short swept back hair and a distinct nose poking out from where their face would be.

 _No prize for guessing who that's supposed to be_ , Amethyst found herself thinking dully.

The Cloud Pearl faced Rose and held out a hand to her, one the Rose was about to take, before seeming to realize that she wasn't alone anymore. She looked over her shoulder and with a small start said, "Oh! Amethyst!", her surprised reaction causing the Cloud Pearl to disappear back into the clouds that surrounded them.

"Hey," she said simply. She wanted Rose to make the first move.

And make the first move she did. Rose almost immediately went over and clutched Amethyst in a tight Quartz hug. "Oh, Amethyst," she said, squeezing a little harder. "When I got back to the Temple last night and you weren't here, I was so worried for you. Garnet said you just left on your own."

Amethyst shifted in Rose's grasp trying to get herself in a better position. Rose accommodated this, sitting down in a more relaxed way so that Amethyst could rest in her lap, though Rose kept her arms snugly around her.

After a bit of settling, Amethyst answered, "I went over to Connie's. Stayed the night there."

"Oh." Rose's voice was flat. "Her parents let you?"

Amethyst nodded. "Even included me in breakfast this morning."

Rose gave her an easy smile. "Well, that's good to hear. I'm glad that you and Connie's relationship hasn't been too impacted by… this," she said with a sniff.

"Yeah," Amethyst said slowly. "'Bout that. Are you, like, okay? What happened?"

Rose's face collapsed and a few sobs escaped before she sniffed and wiped her eyes on her arm. "She said- _Oh, Amethyst_. She said she was leaving."

Amethyst jumped with a start, almost standing up completely in Rose's lap. "What? Leaving, like _us_?"

Rose shook her head. "I don't know. She said no, but I haven't seen her since the restaurant." Rose let out a single sob and a sniff before adding, "She said she was leaving _me_. That she couldn't be with me anymore…"

Amethyst's first reaction was disbelief. Then sheer horror. "What?! She can't leave you! You love each other!"

"I know!" said Rose. Or, at least, that's what Amethyst thought she said. It was hard to make sense through the tears. "Or- I _thought_ she loved me-"

This… did not make sense. It didn't make sense at all. Rose and Pearl had been together forever. Before the war even! They couldn't just **_stop_**.

"D-did she say why she didn't want to be with you anymore?" Amethyst asked, desperate.

"She said she didn't like how I treated the Maheswarans during dinner."

Again, Amethyst found herself only able to blink confusedly in response. While Amethyst _had_ been screaming internally at Rose that how she was acting during dinner wasn't appropriate, it wasn't like it was uncommon. Rose treated a lot of people like that, human or otherwise, and Pearl never seemed to have a problem with it before...

Okay, yeah. That wasn't true. She'd had plenty of problems over it. But she'd never flipped a _nut_ about it before.

"Well," said Amethyst. "I'm going to go talk to her. Tell her I've made it all fine with Connie's parents and everything's okay so she can stop being upset."

Rose stared at her for a long moment. Then she buried her head in her hands.

"Rose?" said Amethyst. "No, Rose, don't cry- it's going to be okay-"

"No it's not! That's not why Pearl got mad!"

"It's… not? But you said-"

"She said she doesn't want me flirting with _any_ humans! _Ever_!"

The clouds around them to shift in response. Rose was still crying into her hands, so Amethyst didn't think she even realised she was doing it. Clouds would quickly coalesce into human figures, then dissolve, before immediately reforming someone new.

Amethyst couldn't remember any of their names, but she recognized them. All of Rose's human friends over the millennia. That one poet, and the queen, and the carpenter, and that one guy who had made really tasty sushi-

"Oh," was all Amethyst could say in response. She awkwardly reached out a hand and patted Rose on the back.

"It's not fair," said Rose, sniffling. "It's not **_fair_**."

"It's-" Amethyst began.

"I tried to tell her," Rose immediately went on, "that love isn't just restricted to a single person. It's something to be shared and spread around."

Amethyst nodded slowly. "Just like when you told me Connie can be friends with me and Steven."

Rose offered a small, sad smile. "Just so," she said, before turning towards the endless pink horizon before her. "Love is so easy to find and share with others. The way Pearl is reacting is just so… unreasonable."

"Yeah," Amethyst said. "But won't be the first time Pearl's been like this and tried to bring everyone down."

Amethyst remembered, over the years, all the times Pearl had ran after her, squawking about one thing or another. _No, Amethyst, put back those clothes, the humans need them! No, Amethyst, don't talk with them, we're on a mission! Amethyst, put that baby down, you don't know where it's been!_

Rose sighed heavily. "I suppose not. But even then, she could always be brought around. But with the way she acted this time… I'm not too sure…"

She began to cry again, not shallow sobs and sniffles, but true actual crying. She covered her face with her hands, freeing Amethyst from her hold, but Amethyst was quick to put her own arms around Rose.

"Hey, it's gonna be alright, Rose," she said. "Look, Pearl'll come around. She always does." Amethyst leaned her head against Rose's chest. "She'll come back, say she was being stupid, and things will go back to normal."

Rose sniffed, before embracing Amethyst in another Quartz sized hug.

"Oh, Amethyst. I hope you're right. I really do."

"I'm right," Amethyst said assuredly. "I'll go talk with her! And if she doesn't listen, I'll beat her up!"

(Even saying it, Amethyst knew she wouldn't win- Amethyst could never win, not against any of the others- but she didn't care about that right now. She had to say something. Had to _do_ something.

Pearl wasn't allowed to go around and make Rose cry just cuz she didn't want to share.)

The two sat there in near silence for a while, the only sound being the whisper of the clouds around them and the occasional bit of talking between the two of them about a few topics: Connie, Beach City, Steven… It wasn't really fun, though, no matter how many jokes and puns Amethyst put in. Rose would laugh, but it would sound ugly and hollow.

It wasn't until several hours later, when Garnet poked her head into the room, that Amethyst got up, stretched, ready to see whatever mission or whatever Garnet needed.

Rose, however, refused to get up. She just sat there, staring at her hands, as the clouds around her shifted into green, grassy fields, a doppelganger of Pearl, smiling besides her.

Amethyst shook her head as she left. She was going to fix this.


	49. Reorientation

**Chapter Forty-Nine: Reorientation**

"I think that should do it." Pearl closed the control panel with a satisfying _click_ and slid out from under the drill. She grabbed the nearest, cleanest rag and wiped the grease from her face, neck, and arms. "Can you test it out for me, Blue?"

"Clear, please!" Blue Pearl called out to Amethyst and Lapis, who were working nearby. She flipped a few switches from inside the cockpit. The engines started with a low hum, growing louder and louder until it was almost deafening. The main drill-head slowly began to turn.

"It's working!" Pearl yelled over the noise. "We did it!"

As soon as she said that, the engines sputtered and spat out a large plume of smoke. The drill-head stuttered to a halt before it fell out of the main carapace and crashed on the ground.

Pearl stared as months worth of hard work spat out more smoke.

"I thought we had it this time," Blue Pearl said, hopping out of the cockpit and landing beside her.

"I thought so too." Pearl wanted cry and yank her hair out in frustration. But no, she was not about to give up. She forced a smile back on her face. "But this is _good!_ It started up, so we at least know we're on the right track!"

Just then, the drill-head burst into flames.

She groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"It will be alright," said Blue Pearl. "It is like you just said. We already got it working once, so I am sure it would take only a few more adjustments until we finally, truly get it."

"Thanks for saying that." Pearl looked up just as a light rain, courtesy of Lapis, doused the flames. "I'm sorry I haven't been around lately. And then when I do manage to come and help out, things fall apart like... Well..." She waved towards the smoldering drill.

"These things happen." Blue placed a soothing hand on Pearl's back. "I understand you have been very busy these last few days."

"...You could say that."

After their talk under the cherry blossoms, Garnet had been taking Pearl on missions all over the world. They hadn't been very difficult missions; either of them could've easily done them alone. Pearl knew Garnet was just doing whatever she could to help her process and she appreciated that, even as part of her resented needing the help at all.

But then, Pearl also knew that she had to get back into the swing of things at some point. Sure, thinking about Rose still cut her at her very core, but keeping busy, feeling productive, and doing things that she enjoyed— things that were own, _outside_ of Rose Quartz— would be good for her. Rose's life didn't revolve around Pearl, so why should Pearl's life revolve around Rose?

( — _In the back of her mind, there was an empty palanquin._

 _It was surrounded by hibiscus flowers._ )

Life kept moving forward, so she buried herself in work on the drill to catch up on the time lost in her absence. Not that there was a lot to catch up on, thanks to Blue being her usual hardworking self and Peridot performing to what Pearl had to admit was an extremely high standard. Still, it wouldn't do to slack off.

Once the fires were out, the two Pearls moved to the opposite canyon wall where they kept the drill's plans. Pearl grabbed one of the blueprints and spread it out on a flat boulder they had turned into a makeshift table.

"We don't know where the fire started exactly, but from where I was looking when it happened, it should be around this area." Pearl drew a circle with her finger. She frowned and massaged the growing knot between her eyebrows. "I know we have a lot of delicate components there, so figuring out which one— or which _ones—_ caused the malfunction is going to be tricky. This is going to set us back quite a bit."

"It will take some time, yes," Blue said lightly. "At least it will still not be as bad as defining one over zero."

Pearl blinked at her. Once. Twice. "What?"

"That would be beyond the _limits_ of our current task," Blue continued. "But it would not be _imaginary_ that the possibilities _approach infinity_."

Pearl confusedly stared at Blue's expression— tiny smile and hopeful eyes— before the words finally sunk in. She laughed. "Oh. _Oh!_ That was quite the _real number_ , Blue."

Blue Pearl's smile widened. "I am glad you found _appreciation over time_. I was starting to worry the _implicit function_ would end up _asymptotic_ to you."

"It took me a moment, yes. But once I found the _integral_ part, it was easy enough. And I do enjoy the _positive slope_ of this _tangent_."

"Yes. That is exactly what _derivatives_ are for."

Pearl burst into loud guffaws, doubling over and clutching at Blue Pearl to get a hold of herself. "That's so brill— _absolute maximum_ brilliance, Blue! Hahahaha! Stars, I think I'm— _Hahaha!—_ running out of _values_ for this _continuous function_."

Blue Pearl chuckled. "I am sure we can always have a _change of variables_ for further study."

"Ahahahaha!"

"GAH! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" cut in another voice.

Startled, the two Pearls flinched away from each other and abruptly stopped laughing. Pearl glared at the source of the interruption. "It's just calculus, Amethyst. I'm sure you'd understand it too, if you'd just take the time to—"

"I'm not talking about the stupid math puns. I'm talking about _you_!" Amethyst pointed an accusing finger right at Pearl. "How can you be all smiley and happy, joking around as if nothing's wrong while Rose is holed up in her room crying over you? Have you even gone back to the Temple at all?"

"I... I didn't know Rose has been..." For a moment, Pearl's mask cracked, her despondence slipping out. She warily glanced at Blue and schooled her expression into something more neutral. She turned back to studying the blueprints. "No. It's better if I don't see her."

"Did you even hear a word I said? Rose is _crying_ , Pearl. She misses you so much, she tried to make a cloud-you to talk to, but she couldn't even manage that because she kept breaking down in sobs!"

When she heard those words, everything about Pearl tightened— her expression, her shoulders, her grip on the drill plans— and she wanted nothing more than to _feel_ Rose again. To hold her in her arms. To wipe her tears away. To tell her that everything would be okay, as long as they were together. Just like old times.

But those old times also came with patterns and habits that whittled away at her will until she had grown too complacent, too used to her pain. Pearl didn't want that... anymore.

She clutched at her chest. It was getting hard to breathe, not that she needed to, but she felt like she was caught in a boa constrictor's death grip. She wanted to ignore Amethyst's words and keep working, but her concentration was starting to errode and...

No, she would not give in— she _refused_ to. She picked up a nearby wrench and headed back to the drill.

Amethyst followed behind her.

"Can't you go talk to her or something?" she continued to prod. "I'm sure if you guys talked about your feelings and stuff, things will all go back to normal."

Pearl frowned. "I'm needed here. I have work to do."

"Bloop and Lapis had managed while you were away with Garnet. I'm sure they can handle a few hours on their own."

"I already said no, Amethyst."

"But why?"

Pearl's frown deepened. "Why what?"

"Why don't you wanna talk with Rose?"

"Because..." She stared at the wrench in her hand, at how her knuckles protruded as she gripped it much too tightly than necessary. "You know, I don't have to explain myself to you."

"Yeah, like you ever tried so hard to explain anything to dumb little ol' me." Amethyst scoffed. "I'm not stupid, Pearl."

"I never said you were stupid."

"Then why won't you tell me why? All of you keep saying talking makes things better, so why d'you gotta be so unreasonable about this?"

" _Excuse me?!_ " Pearl whirled around to give her a scathing glare. " _I'm_ the one being _unreasonable_?"

"Yeah!" Amethyst threw her hands in the air, gesturing wildly. "You always act out like this whenever there's a new human, and everyone's like 'no harm, no foul'. But you know what? I am _sick_ of it. Sure, I was able to fix things up with Connie's parents this time, but what if I hadn't? Would you even care? If you hate humans so much, why d'you gotta keep giving the rest of us who like thema hard time? Can't you just, for once, not be like—" she waved her arms in an encompassing gesture "—this?"

"You don't get to lecture me, Amethyst."

"I'll stop 'lecturing'," she made air quotes, "when you stop messing things up!"

" _I_ messed things up? Rose was the one acting inappropriately at that dinner!" Pearl snapped, pointing in the general direction of the Temple. "Why aren't you lecturing _her_?"

"This isn't just about dinner! This is about whatever the tizz is up your butt that you would leave Rose!"

"That's—" Pearl flushed a furious shade of blue. "That is none of your business!"

"It's plenty my business because I'm the one who keeps getting caught in between your spats all these centuries and I am _done_!"

"Right. Because this whole thing is about how _you_ feel about _my_ relationship!"

"ARGH! Why does it always have to be about you?!"

"Because this conflict is between me and Rose, and _Not. You!_ " Pearl angrily poked Amethyst's chest for emphasis. "But you sure are doing a great job making it all about yourself, that's for sure!"

Amethyst snarled and wound her fist back, very obviously preparing for a punch. Pearl blocked it easily when it came, and sneered at the attempt. Or, she tried to sneer but something socked her on the mouth so hard, her knees buckled.

"I have two fists, you moron!" Amethyst bellowed, shaking the fist she had hit Pearl with. "And I can shapeshift more if I have to!"

Pearl spat and wiped her lips with the back of her hand. "Oh, so we're going to do this, are we?"

"Stop acting high and mighty!" Amethyst summoned her whip. "If you won't see reason, I'll just beat you up until you do!"

"I can say the same to you!" Pearl summoned her spear, twirling it around as she fell into a sturdy, well-practiced stance. She hadn't noticed when Blue and Lapis had made themselves scarce, but she was glad they had. That meant she could go all out.

She effortlessly weaved in and out of Amethyst's attacks, moving up too close for a whip's effective range. She put the smaller Gem on the defensive with her quick kicks and stabs, up until Amethyst decided to leap away and regroup. That was when Pearl took aim and laser blasted her out of the air. Amethyst collided into the drill, making a sizeable dent on it, before she crashed back on the ground.

"Give it up, Amethyst." Pearl pointed her spear, as if daring Amethyst to defy her further. "We both know you can't beat me."

"Keep telling yourself that." Amethyst coughed out some ash. "I'm just getting started!" She summoned a new whip and thrust it forward, catching Pearl's spear by the shaft. They struggled for control, neither side wanting to give in. Until Amethyst put all her weight into one powerful tug, making Pearl careen right into a roundhouse kick to the ribs. She flew into the air. Pushing through the pain, she flipped to land on her feet, skidding to a halt near the opposite canyon wall.

Not waiting for her to recover, Amethyst summoned another whip and lashed both forward, purple flames running along their lengths. Pearl rolled to the side, forward and backwards, again and again, barely avoiding the flurry of fiery strikes. She couldn't get her footing and dodge at the same time, and she knew jumping into the air right now would only make her more vulnerable to the onslaught.

But if she had learned one thing about combat: _If there is no opening, make one._

"Is that all you got, Amethyst? You said you'll beat me up, but all you're showing me is how _excellent_ you are at _not_ hitting anything!" Pearl taunted. The next lash almost grazed her face and left an angry burn on her cheek. She knew it would only be a matter of time before she got overpowered like this; she needed to take the upper-hand back from Amethyst.

She struck the whip on its journey back, letting it wrap around her spear and letting herself be pulled back into range. At the last second, she let go of the captured spear and summoned a fresh one, using the momentum to propel her counterattack.

Predictably, Amethyst leapt out of the way again.

Pearl threw her spear after her.

It went flying past Amethyst.

"HA! Ya missed!" she gloated. "Who's not hitting who now?!"

But Pearl wasn't aiming for her.

Sandstone rocks rained down from the cliff face the spear had hit. Some of rocks hitting Amethyst on the head was a nice bonus, but mostly they were for leverage. Pearl jumped into the air, kicking off them to relentlessly hit Amethyst from all directions. Amethyst could only curl into a defensive ball to minimize the damage.

However, once Pearl started to run out of rocks to jump off of, the time between her attacks grew longer and Amethyst gained enough breathing room to snag the boulder Pearl was about to land on next. Suddenly without a foothold, Pearl couldn't change directions quickly enough when Amethyst flung that same boulder at her like a makeshift wrecking ball. Pearl went flying to the far end of the canyon.

"Had enough yet, Pearlie-bird?" Amethyst yelled. "Ready to come talk with Rose now?"

Pearl could only cough up dust in response. She pulled herself out of the mini-crater her landing had made, glaring at Amethyst. But that was when things happened so fast:

The burnt, battered drill was wobbling.

Amethyst was standing right at its feet.

The drill started to lean to one direction.

Amethyst still hadn't noticed.

The drill began to fall.

Pearl cried out her name.

Amethyst turned around to look, but it was already too late to get away.

Pearl's body moved on its own, quicker than she ever thought she could.

She caught part of the drill before it could crush Amethyst.

"What the—? How?" Amethyst's voice cracked. "P-Pearl? Is that you out there?"

"Just shut up and get out of there!" Pearl grunted. "I can't hold this thing forever!"

Amethyst crawled out from under drill. Once sure that she was safe, Pearl let go. It loudly crashed to the ground.

"You didn't have to do that," Amethyst muttered, once the echoes of their fight had subsided. "That thing would've just poofed me."

"It's heavy enough to crush your gem," Pearl replied. "I couldn't risk that ever happening to you."

"Why? It's not like you care about what happens to me."

"But I do!" she snapped, turning to glare at Amethyst. Then she realized the oxymoron she was presenting, and softened into a gentler expression. "...I do. Care about you, I mean. I'm sorry I haven't been very good at showing you that."

"... I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have punched you."

The two of them stood in awkward silence, staring at the mechanical wreck at their feet.

"You're still not gonna talk to Rose, are you?"

"No."

"Can you _at least_ tell me why? I heard Rose's side of the story. She said you were being unfair. But I guess there's more to it than that?" Amethyst huffed, kicking a pebble to the debris. "I just want things to go back to normal already."

Pearl let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know if things will ever go back to how they were, Amethyst." She raised her hand before the younger Gem could ask why again. "Rose is... wonderful, in so many ways. She makes me feel like I was everything, you know." She smiled, almost wistfully, but her eyes were clouded with sadness. "Or... she _used to_ make me feel that way. All this time, whenever she goes off to frolic with her humans, she makes me feel like..." She looked away, grounding out the next words like it physically pained her. "Like a _Pearl_."

"But you _are_ Pearl," said Amethyst.

Pearl opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out. She stared at Amethyst, wondering how to word just how complicated everything was— if she even _could_ talk about everything. Sighing, she decided she would just have to give it her best shot.

She began to explain. It was a long and difficult discussion. There was so much Amethyst didn't know, and even now, it was terrifying telling her. Amethyst seemed thoughtful throughout, only interrupting to ask questions or for outbursts of anger in her behalf. Pearl thought it was sweet, in a very Amethyst way.

But when it was over, Amethyst was very quiet. Pearl didn't know what to make of that.

She also wasn't sure what to make of the two blue figures, heads just barely visible peeking over the canyon's lip, who'd listened to everything she'd had to say.

* * *

Rose Quartz had no idea how long she stayed inside her room, only that when she left, the light outside was completely different. That told her little, however; it could only have been a matter of days, and regardless, she cared little.

Her trip outside was short. She just went to that little Big Donut store, grabbing a load of human confectionery and ice cream, carrying them in her arms. Once back in her room, settled safely among the clouds, Rose methodically ate through each and every one of them. The sweet flavors and varied textures offered a distraction from the emotional turmoil inside.

Not much of a distraction, but it was something.

She had nearly finished off the 'honey crullers' when Garnet arrived and said, "Rose, I need your help."

Rose had just stared at her blearily.

Garnet had stared back.

Eventually Rose said, "Get someone else's help." After a moment, she added, "Please."

"I can't."

Rose dug her fingers into the clouds, which turned into solid, cold earth. "I don't want—"

"Rose, please."

Eventually, Rose did leave. There may have been some pulling involved. Maybe Garnet had to carry her. Maybe. But not for long. The thought of what Pearl would think if she saw her like that snapped her out of it quickly. Rose made sure to hold her chin high as she exited the Temple.

… Pearl wasn't there.

Garnet didn't comment. Not then, or in the warp stream.

Even once they arrived at their location- a thick, muddy swamp- Garnet didn't say much than to describe the mission at hand. Ancient Homeworld Temple hidden beneath the muck. Powerful geothermal arificat. Cause terrible earthquakes. That would be bad.

Rose only half listened. It was difficult to find any of that important, just then.

But as she moved through the the muddy hallways, navigating around alligators and coaxing vines out of the way, Rose found it became more important. The feeling of damp on her dress, mud in her hair, coolness against her skin… It was grounding, real, in a way that nothing in her room was.

Eventually they came to the obstacle Garnet knew only Rose could help pass; a never end cascade of tiny blades, like a waterfall of iron.

With Garnet standing close to her, Rose Quartz summoned her shield, summoning the urge to protect, to keep safe. It was harder than it had been in a long, long time, but she managed it. Together they passed through the obstacle, the blades letting out delicate little _tings!_ as they bounced off the shield.

Sitting on a pedestal was an artifact of wrought silver, a glimmering blue gemstone embedded in the fine metal. Rose was just going to grab it when Garnet said, "Wait."

Rose stopped, wary of any traps Garnet may have foreseen.

"We need to talk," Garnet said, instead.

Rose turned away, and plucked the artifact from its pedestal. "I don't see why."

"Hiding in your room isn't going to fix anything."

Rose didn't say anything. She just marched to the sword-waterfall, and raised her shield, gesturing for Garnet to come with her. Garnet didn't move.

With a sigh, Rose let her shield disappear. "Then what do you suggest I do, precisely?"

"Talk to Pearl."

"I tried that." Rose rolled her eyes. "She was being unreasonable."

Garnet let out a sigh of her own. "No. I don't think she was."

Rose raised her chin. "You weren't there."

"I spoke with Pearl."

"So you heard _her_ side after-"

"- and before. Rose, this has been hurting her for a _long time_ ," said Garnet.

Rose fidgeted it a little. Yes, of course, she'd noticed how strange and rude Pearl could get around humans. But she had never known how fierce, how intense, her irrational dislike had been. Rose said, "... Then she should have told me."

"I know." Garnet nodded. "I said as much, many times. But she was scared that you wouldn't listen. That you would dismiss her. That she would lose you.

"And you proved those fears correct," Garnet finished.

Rose froze. Something akin to a blush crept up her cheeks.

She took a moment to collect herself. To put into words what she was feeling, how betrayed she had felt by Pearl's demands, how her request went against everything the Crystal Gems stood for; to love wholly and freely—

But Garnet spoke first, saying, "Rose... I think I know what happened here."

"Oh?" It was framed as Rose's usual, genuine curiosity, but there was a sharper edge beneath it.

"Yes." Garnet sighed. "I'm a Sapphire."

"No, you're not!" Rose admonished. "You're Garnet, you're something completely—"

"—different, yes, I know," Garnet said. "I'm me. I'm a fusion. But I am also Ruby, and also Sapphire. And you're a Quartz. And on Homeworld, we had a degree of... privilege, that our partners didn't. And working to even out that imbalance can sometimes be- difficult."

Rose looked at Garnet sidelong. "Well, you don't seem to have any difficulties."

"Not as much, these days," Garnet agreed. "But you must remember what it was like, early on."

… and Rose could. It has started in ernest just as Garnet had begun to lose her original, splotchy pink and blue form. She had still smiled and laughed easily— far easier than she did today— but had often turned sharp and edgy in a flash. She'd been plagued by hallucinations. She had fallen apart more often, Sapphire and Ruby rushing off in a huff, or yelling or ignoring one another.

Garnet nodded, seeing Rose's comprehension on her face. "It was hard," she said. "And… extremely unpleasant, at times. But we had no choice but to figure it out, because if we hadn't, I couldn't have kept existing. Not so stably, not long-term."

Rose nodded, slowly, but she wasn't sure she quite understood. "So… what are you saying?"

"I'm saying there's still some lingering imbalance between you and Pearl," explained Garnet. "It's interfering with your relationship. It makes Pearl hesitant to speak up, and you reluctant to listen to her."

"That's ridiculous!" Rose huffed, crossing her arms. "Of course I listen to Pearl! It's just that what she was saying was— it was, ridiculous, Garnet, ridiculous and _controlling—_ "

"Or perhaps you were simply affronted that Pearl would ask something of you."

Rose glared at Garnet. " _No_."

Garnet laid a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Please, Rose. Just hear me out. Sapphire has made similar mistakes, assuming Ruby should just do whatever she wanted—"

"I'm not Sapphire!" Rose cried. "I'm not— I've never been some— self-important upper crust! I started the rebellion! I _led_ it! Nobody believes in equality more than me!"

Garnet stepped back. She was frowning. "You can still make mistakes, Rose," she said. "We all can."

Rose made herself take a long, deep breath.

It wasn't that Garnet was trying to upset her, she knew. And Garnet… did know some things about this, she had to admit. Getting angry wouldn't help.

"... Alright," Rose said at last, re-adjusting her grip on the artifact they'd come to collect. "I will… consider what you've said, Garnet. But… Don't expect me to give up my bonds with humans. They mean too much to me."

At length, Garnet nodded. "You don't necessarily have to do what Pearl asks of you. But you should speak with her about her desires, calmly and seriously. Come to some sort of compromise. Together."

"Together," Rose Quartz echoed. But she hadn't felt ever felt so distant from Pearl— not since those lonely days when they had shared each others' company in stiff, professional silence.

Pearl. Her Pearl. Rose wanted her back, so much that she ached for her. _Ached_.

… but the thought of trying to speak with her right now hurt too.

Garnet must have predicted what Rose was going to say, because she stepped in; "You don't need to speak with her yet. It might help for both of you to take some time apart."

Rose nodded, a little stiffly.

"... And, one other thing," Garnet added. Rose gestured for her to continue. "Let's… be careful how we talk about this with Amethyst. We don't want to upset her."

"Yes. Yes, of course," said Rose, feeling another wave of guilt creeping up on her.

Garnet laid a gauntleted hand on Rose's shoulder, heavy and comforting. Rose reached out to squeeze it.

Under the protection of Rose's shield, they left the sunken, crumbling temple side-by-side.

* * *

"Alright, so. Some post game drink, yeah?"

Pearl saw Lapis shift in her seat on the couch next to her, but otherwise remain silent. Ever since they had arrived at Vidalia's house earlier that evening, Lapis had looked _profoundly_ uncomfortable. And while Pearl was better at masking it then Lapis was, she did understand Lapis's discomfort.

"I've got some beers in the fridge," came Vidalia's voice from the kitchen again. "And I might even have some wine leftover from Yellowtail's birthday."

Lapis sat up just a little straighter in her seat and called back, "We don't drink."

Vidalia stuck her head back in the living room, looking at the pair. "Oh," she said simply. "Well, I've got plenty of other choices. Got some soda or ginger ale. Or I can brew us up some tea or coffee?"

"No, what Lapis meant," Pearl spoke up, "was that we don't drink _at all_. As Gems we require no food or water to sustain ourselves."

"Ah, right," Vidalia said, waving her hand. "The whole 'alien thing' right?"

Pearl resisted the urge to say that from her perspective, Vidalia was the alien, and instead nodded simply. "Yes, that is correct."

"Right, right," Vidalia nodded. "Well then, do either of you ladies need anything else? Anything Gems _do_ need? Sunlight? You guys photosynthesize like plants or something?"

Pearl shook her head. "No, I am fine," before passing a look to Lapis.

"Yeah, I'm fine too," Lapis said.

Vidalia disappeared back into the kitchen, but only for a moment before she returned with a brightly colored can in her hand. She pulled the tab and it hissed as carbonation escaped the can. She took a drink as she sat down in a recliner next to Pearl and Lapis and placed her drink can on a coaster on the coffee table.

"So," Vidalia said casually, leaning back in her seat. "How are you two liking Beach City?"

"It is quite agreeable," Pearl answered, picking her words carefully. "It is certainly a change from Korea."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Vidalia answered. "Greg tells me you and little Steven were living in the mountains while he was here taking care of some business." Vidalia smirked as she reached for her drink. "Don't get me wrong, that sounds nice, but-" She took a sip from her drink, "-I think _I'd_ rather live somewhere a bit more connected to others."

"Yeah," Lapis shrugged. "Being alone for too long sucks."

Vidalia opened her mouth as if she was going to ask for more details, but she stopped herself as a pair of footsteps were heard coming down the hall. A moment later Vidalia's son Onion emerged into the living room, followed closely behind by Steven.

"Hey there, you two. Where are you off to?" Vidalia asked. In response, Onion climbed into her lap and got close to her, whispering something in her ear. Vidalia nodded along before Onion hopped down from her lap when he was finished.

"Alright fine. But you two don't leave the backyard," Vidalia said.

"Yes. It will be dark soon," Pearl added. "So stay near the house, dear."

Onion nodded, as did Steven who also said, "Okay, Pearl. We won't." The two then turned and ran to the back door together.

Vidalia chuckled after them before returning her attention back to Pearl and Lapis. "Kids, huh? Always so fast to make new 'bestest' friends." She laughed lightly. "And that Steven of your's is well behaved." She gave Pearl a smile. "You must be pretty proud, huh?"

Pearl bowed her head slightly at Vidalia. "Steven has always been a joy to look after."

Vidalia laughed again and said, "Yeah, he seems like that kind of kid. Quiet, and low impact. If you know what I mean."

Pearl lied and pretended like she did. "Yes, I suppose so."

Taking another sip of her drink, Vidalia went on, "It's not an easy job, being a mother. I didn't I'd ever be up to it, but well." More laughter. "Here I am, huh?"

"Ah," Pearl said, raising a hand to her mouth. "I am not Steven's mother. I am merely his guardian."

"Right, well. A parent's a guardian. Besides," Vidalia said, waving a hand. "The way he acts around you? _Heh_ , I know a mother and son when I see them."

Pearl shifted in her seat slightly, and Pearl saw Vidalia's brow crinkle a bit.

"Ah, man. I didn't mean-" She shook her head, setting her empty can on the table with a hollow 'clank'.

"I don't want to step over a line or anything," she said. "Greg's told me a lot about you and… his Ex."

Pearl felt her chest tighten, though she did her best to hide it. This of course wasn't the first time Pearl had been mistaken for Steven's mother. And while the comparison had never sat well with her, the ease at which Vidalia was able to make it…

Being compared to her Diamond was never something Pearl enjoyed. For… multiple reasons. None of which Pearl ever dwelled on long.

Still, Vidalia seemed more perceptive than most. She at least seemed to realize that such comments made Pearl uncomfortable. Pearl supposed Greg _had_ told Vidalia at least some about Blue Diamond, and Pearl herself.

Lapis moved her hand over and Pearl felt it rest on top of her own. She gave Lapis a sidelong look, but Lapis was still looking straight ahead.

"It is alright," Pearl said. "It is an easy enough comparison to make." She turned her hand over and lightly squeezed Lapis' hand. "I have been with Steven and Greg since Steven was born. And I've done whatever I can for both of them."

Vidalia chuckled. "Yeah, I get that impression. And based on what _I've_ seen, I think they're both luck to have ya."

Pearl felt her cheeks flush as she fidgeted in her seat, and was followed by Lapis giving her hand a quick squeeze. The gesture was quick and just for a moment, but it was still enough to be noticed.

Vidalia raised an eyebrow. "You two known each long?"

"A while, I guess. I mean, I saw Pearl back on Homeworld and stuff," Lapis answered flatly. "But I didn't _know_ her, or anything."

Vidalia nodded. "Yeah, I getcha. But now that you've got some new scenery, things change, huh? I know what that's like." She grinned and closed her eyes. "Something similar happened with me and Yellowtail. Before him it was mostly just short term hookups with any guy or gal who showed any interest."

Pearl nodded silently.

"But, anyway," Vidalia continued, shaking her head a little, "as long as you two are happy together right now, that's all the really matters." She grinned again, though this one seemed to have a more devilish flair to it. "It's all about finding who makes you happy, and damn what everyone else thinks."

"Makes sense to me," Lapis said with a shrug.

A silent moment passed, before Vidalia spoke again. "So, are you two still in the hand-holding-only phase, or have you taken it to the next step?"

Pearl started slightly, as she instinctively pulled her hand away from Lapis'. "I- I'm sorry?" she stuttered.

Vidalia laughed again. "Sorry, sorry," she said, slapping her knee. "I don't want to imply anything that's not there, but… well, from an outsider's perspective, I'd say that you two _are_ pretty close."

Pearl felt her mouth open, but no words came to her. She tried to force something— anything— out, but no sound at all came.

"Well, yeah. We're pretty close."

It was Lapis that spoke, and for a moment, Pearl wasn't even sure she'd heard her. But she looked over at Lapis, and she was still there, her expression the same neutralness that Pearl had come to recognize. Albeit, her cheeks were just slightly flushed with color.

Vidalia gave a toothy grin. "That's good to hear." She looked over at Pearl, as if waiting for her to add something.

But Pearl pursed her lips and finally forced out, though perhaps a bit louder than she intended, "I think it is getting late. We should probably be going."

Laughing, Vidalia stood up. "Yeah, I guess it is." Pearl stood up as well, but Vidalia waved a hand. "You two stay here. I'll go grab the kids from out back."

She left them, and after several quiet seconds, Pearl sat back down next to Lapis. She bowed her head and closed her eyes, doing her best to gather thoughts.

"Lapis?" she asked quietly. "Did… you mean that? What you just said?"

"What do you mean?"

Pearl looked up at Lapis, brushing her bangs out of her eyes so as to see as clearly as possible. "What you said, about us being… close. Did you mean it?"

Lapis looked at her curiously. "Well, we are, aren't we?"

"Of course," Pearl was quick to say. "But… the way Vidalia said it… I believe she meant it in a slightly different way."

Lapis nodded slowly. "Like… in that movie we watched with Steven. About those two guys that turned into- wolves or whatever."

"Yes," Pearl said. "It's… a different type of closeness, then say the closeness I share with Steven and Greg."

Several silent moments passed before Lapis shrugged. "Well. _Aren't_ we close like that?"

"I…" Pearl trailed off. It was true. There was a lot of fondness to be had for Lapis. And it was true that they had grown undeniably close. But so close the other could so easily see it? It felt odd, and maybe even a little taboo to consider. To think about Greg and Steven seeing a Pearl while away her time with something so frivolous.

But… Greg and Steven were unlike anyone else. They were more like Vidalia, in their own way. They didn't care about such things— indeed, were Pearl to tell them she suspected that Steven would be excited at the prospect.

Her insides felt like they flipped around. No, no telling Steven or Greg yet. Not yet…

Pearl swallowed and in one gentle movement, laid her hand back on Lapis', letting their fingers intertwine.

"I suppose we are that close," Pearl said softly. "If you want to be…"

Lapis gave no vocal response, only letting her head rest gently against the the back of the couch, supported by Pearl's arm. The two sat their in comfortable, content silence for several minutes, until Vidalia returned with Steven and Onion.

* * *

 **Authors' Note:** And we're back!

Thanks to everyone for their patience! This last month has been bananas hectic for us, but we're excited to be back in the groove.

Hopefully look out for our spooooky Halloween AU story stuff to be coming back too this month :)


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